Seven Years Later
by FrecklesAtWork
Summary: Seven years later, as the title would suggest, after Motherboard was cured, Hacker locked away, and the Cybersquad was told their services would be no longer needed, Inez finds herself sucked back into Cyberspace.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This story starts the way most do; it's seven years later (So Matt and Jackie are 18, Inez is 16 – all other characters mentioned are also, obviously, seven years older, so just remember that), and Matt, Jackie and Inez haven't been to Cyberspace since Motherboard was healed and Hacker supposedly locked away (also seven years ago). Just thought I'd make those points clear.

Chapter I

The room was still. Calculators and pens lay scattered on the floor, amid notebooks and various sheets of paper. A pile of homework was left sitting on a desk, the result of two hours of continuous studying. For once, the smart, energetic girl who was usually always up and about, was at rest. Inez lay silently in her bed, breathing softly. She was sprawled on the top of her covers, a half finished book propped against her chin, her large, square-rimed glasses askew upon her face. She had, evidently, fallen asleep reading. An open window let in a cool breeze, tousling her hair in only the slightest way. Left open on the floor was an ancient, battered journal that had been in use for so many years, it didn't have many unmarked pages left. The pages in the journal flew back as the wind brushed them lightly, before they opened on one of the earliest pages of the book, the paper and ink faded due to so much handling from continuous re-reading. The date was from seven years ago, and the entry itself took up 2 pages.

_Journal,_

_ Wow, can you say unexpected? Who would've thought that the day we were pulled in to save Eco-haven from an unexpected shortage of bananas, would lead to the curing of Motherboard? It all started out pretty simple. We were trying to work out why the bananas were disappearing, when we found Hacker's ship in the middle of a swamp. Of course, it became clear that Hacker was the one the one behind the disappearance of the bananas – whether he was just trying to spite the animals of Eco-haven, or he had some other nefarious plot that required the use of bananas, we never did find out. What we did know was that we had to get inside the Grim Wreaker and see if we could figure out the mystery of the banished bananas…or that was how Matt described it, anyway. Of course, he wanted to get on the ship right away, but Jackie and I told him we had to wait, first, and see if Hacker or his two henchmen, Buzz and Delete, were with him. Digit seemed kind of anxious to get to the ship, too, but he, like Matt, agreed to wait._

_Sure enough, a few minutes later Buzz and Delete came walking down the ramp of the ship, complaining about how they had to walk to join up with Hacker on the other side of Eco-haven – apparently Hacker didn't want the ship moved. This told us, though, that Hacker was definitely not on the ship, and now, neither were Buzz and Delete. As soon as he had left the clearing, the four of us ran up into the ship. Digit stayed by the ramp to keep watch, while Matt, Jackie and I started searching through the ship._

_I was the one who found it._

_I had decided to search through a small column filling cabinets. There were rows upon rows of folders, many of them marked with schemes that we, the Cybersquad, had foiled in the past. I flipped through each file quickly, hardly bothering to do more than just glance at the title that labeled each folder. My hand slipped on one, though. I was a little surprised to see a folder marked "Motherboard Virus." It was old and beaten, and my hands were trembling so much as I took it out of the cabinet, I was worried it would just disintegrate in front of me. Opening it, I realized the folder contained every detail about the day Hacker infected Motherboard with that dreadful virus. It even contained the exact specifications of the virus, how it was created, and possibilities as to how it could be rid of. My heart raced. This was it, this was the way to save Motherboard. We got off the ship quickly, and Digit got us a portal to Motherboard as soon as I told him what I had discovered._

_Dr. Marbles only needed to see the folder for five minutes before he went to work. The four of us were left nervously pacing, wondering if this really could be it – if Motherboard really was about to be cured. We had always thought that the Encryptor Chip would be the only way to save Motherboard, but now, with this folder, it seemed there were so many other ways to save her. But anyway, where was I? Oh right, pacing, wondering if Motherboard would be cured._

_Sure enough, she was. I'd never really realized just how weak Motherboard was before, but once we all saw what she was like when she was in perfect condition, we realized it. Now, her screen shone like Solaria's sun, her voice was louder and less-metallic, and she had much more control over Cyberspace – and Hacker. This time, Marbles refused to have Hacker banished, and Motherboard agreed. They wanted to make sure he was kept close by at all times, so Dr. Marbles constructed a small room, a cell I guess, beneath the control center. It wasn't hard for Motherboard to track Hacker, and his associates, down and then lock them up. Dr. Marbles designed his own virus, which they infected Hacker with. It left him in a coma, and he was locked away, regardless. Buzz and Delete were freed, but Marbles planned to keep an eye on them. In the end, Hacker was no longer a threat, and Motherboard was forever cured._

_So of course, there was no further need for us. Motherboard would be able to handle all of Cyberspace's major problems again. The Cybersquad would not need to be called on again. Motherboard said she was proud of us, and wished each of us luck on earth. We asked her if she could maybe call us again some time, so we could all see each other again. She said she couldn't, but promised that if Cyberspace was even thrown into such serious danger that even she couldn't handle it, we would be the first ones she would call. So we said good-bye to Digit, Motherboard, and Dr. Marbles, and as I stepped into a portal for the last time, I couldn't help but think of all the people I hadn't gotten to say goodbye to. Like Glowla, Creech, Shari, or Binary and Icky, or Slider. Even people I had never really even known too well before, such as Erica Ram, I realized I still felt sad I couldn't say bye to them either. Jackie, Matt and I swore to keep in touch even more, since we don't live that close by, but we were still leaving behind everyone else in Cyberspace._

_Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't found that file marked "Motherboard Virus." Or if I had never opened it, or if I had just never given it to Dr. Marbles. _

The three of them – Jackie, Matt, and Inez – had kept in touch. However, Inez hadn't been doing so well at communicating with them lately. All her homework had kept her glued to her books and notes, and away from her computer, where her IM's and email waited. It'd been two days since she'd last checked her email, so she had yet to see the two unread messages waiting in her inbox. One was an ad for a Caribbean cruise. The other was a message from Jackie, titled 'Matt,' and enclosed a message asking, 'Have you heard from Matt lately? I know he was on vacation for the past two weeks, but he said he'd be back by the day before yesterday. I haven't seen him online lately, though.'

Maybe she'd check her email in the morning. Inez had felt a little guilty for not talking to Matt and Jackie, since they usually exchange various messages and stories at least three times a day. _Tomorrow_, she'd thought as she'd climbed on top of her bed with her latest book, _I'll talk to them. _

The sudden portal that appeared at the side of her bed seemed to argue against this thought, however, as the still-sleeping Inez was sucked into Cyberspace for the first time in seven years.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

She woke up as soon as she entered Cyberspace. Grabbing her glasses, which had just started to slip away from her, she jammed them onto her face so hard she left a small bruise on her nose. The book Inez had fallen asleep with was still with her, and she hugged it in the same way a scared five year old would cling to a teddy bear, as she glanced around her fearfully. Looking around, the fright gave way to confusion, and Inez's strongest urge, curiosity, overcame her. She was in…what looked like a battlefield, and she regretted to see there was almost no other way to describe it. She herself had materialized behind a huge mound of sand bags, and looking around her she could see a setting like the type she had read about in all the war-related books she had ever found. Small, cramped tents were pitched up around her with soldiers sitting outside them, biding their time. The grass around her had been trampled and ripped up so repeatedly that the area that had once resembled a large, lush meadow now appeared to be more of just a large expanse of dirt, with a few pathetic stalks of grass still trying to push their way through. The sky was dark, and the wind that blew through the area shook the leaves from the few trees that grew around the area. It only took her a second to realize she was in Cyberspace, but she didn't recognize her surroundings. Upon looking at the soldiers for a second time, though, Inez recognized them as the guards from the Cybersite Shangri-La. She reasoned that, logically, she must then be on Shangri-La.

"But it can't be," she said to herself softly, as she adjusted her sitting position so that she was leaning against the large tower of sandbags, "It can't be Shangri-La."

"Inez!"

She looked up at the sound of her name, and was relieved to see Jackie running pell-mell towards her. Although Inez had communicated regularly with her old friend, she hadn't actually seen Jackie for over a year. She appeared to be mostly unchanged, although did not look as relieved as Inez did. Although her friend seemed happy to see Inez, Jackie also appeared worried and tired.

"Inez!" exclaimed Jackie again as she finally reached Inez, and the two embraced, "You made it!"

"Yea, but…Jackie, what's going on? Where am I? This can't really be Shangri-La."

"H'oh boy, have you got some history to catch up on," squawked a familiar voice, and Inez looked up to see Digit hovering overhead. The Cyberbird appeared worse for wear, though. He was covered in grease stains, his surface scratched and dented, and he appeared to be even more exhausted than Jackie.

"Digit!" cried Inez, feeling genuinely happy, in spite of the obvious trouble that surrounded her.

"Hello Inez," and the Cybird couldn't help but smile back, "It's been a while, Earthlies, but I don't have much time. I've got to go find the last portal," he directed his last comment towards Jackie, who nodded, understanding, before Digit turned back to Inez again, "But first, I've got to tell you both about what's going on here. So we might as well get comfortable."

"You don't know what's happening?" asked Inez to Jackie, who was moving to sit down by her.

"No, Digit only told me that Cyberspace is at war, but we've been busy recovering portals, or portal-makers, really. He wanted to make sure we were both here before he explained, though, so that way he wouldn't have to repeat himself."

"Oh," remarked Inez, and then turned her gaze towards Digit, looking expectantly at the metal Cybird.

"Well, where to begin…" mused Digit, drifting to the ground in front of Inez and Jackie, "You guys both remember when we last saw each other, after curing Motherboard, nearly seven years ago, I think. Well, we all thought that was the end of Hacker. Everything was going fine, until something odd started to happen about five years ago. All the portals we use to get from Cyberspaces to your world are made either through Motherboard or with one of these things," Digit opened his built-in drawer, and pulled out a small, dark green box with a blue button in the middle, "This one's useless now, but I kept it. Anyway, there aren't a lot of these things as it is, 'cuz no one really needs to get between your world and Cyberspace anyway, except for you guys. But since even you didn't need them anymore, a lot of them just went to waste. So nobody noticed when pretty much all of them disappeared. It wasn't until Motherboard, after waking up from a brief period of hibernation, realized that her own portal program was missing, did we – Dr. Marbles, Motherboard and I – start looking into it. Motherboard did a scan of Cyberspace and realized that every remaining portal-maker had been infected with a powerful virus that rendered them all practically useless. Motherboard's own portal software that allowed her to bring up portals wherever she wanted had been erased. The ability to create portals between Cyberspace and Earth was one that no longer existed."

"Weird," remarked Inez.

Digit nodded, "It was, but we didn't bother to really look into it, since we didn't really need to use portals anymore. So we forgot about it. That was a mistake," he paused, not wanting to say what had happened next, "A few months later, Hacker escaped."

"What?!" cried Inez and Jackie in unison, both of them sitting bolt-upright.

"Yea," replied Digit, "Hacker escaped."

"But how?" asked Inez, her mind already working furiously to solve the problem in front of them, "I thought Dr. Marbles had produced a top-notch security system to guard Hacker, including constant surveillance of his cell. And Hacker was infected with a unique virus Dr. Marbles also created – how could he have escaped? It seems impossible!"

"That's the weird part," replied Digit, his voice hollow, "Nobody knows how he did it. Buzz and Delete were in Solaria at the time, and neither one of them had made any attempt to free Hacker in the past – although they did both disappear three days after his escape. Nobody had access to Hacker's cell, except for a few select people. Motherboard even had sensors located all over his cell, so that anytime the door was opened, she would know immediately. But nothing alerted her to it. She was hibernating again, but Hacker's cell opening definitely should've woken her up. Dr. Marbles was fixing his Cybership at the time – still, he should've been alerted, too. Nobody knew, and Hacker escaped, hijacking a ship and escaping. Like I said, Buzz and Delete disappeared three days later, and we're pretty sure it was Hacker who picked them up. Motherboard immediately thought of contacting you three but…"

"You couldn't," whispered Inez, "Not with all the portals destroyed."

"Exactly," sighed Digit, "So we were on our own. Motherboard tried to track down Hacker like last time, but nothing ever showed up. We're thinking he had some sort of cloaking device, but still, it would have to be a very powerful one for it to make it impossible for even Motherboard to locate it. Catching Hacker was our main priority, but nothing really seemed to be happening. I mean, Hacker wasn't doing anything. We didn't even see Hacker for another five months, when he took over Happily Ever After."

"Took over?" exclaimed Jackie, "He took it over? But I mean, Hacker's taken over Cybersites before, and he's always been beaten back! I mean like, with Mother B all cured and everything, wouldn't it have been easy to reclaim the site?"

"Well, that's what we thought. Now that Hacker had finally shown up, it would have been easy normally for Motherboard to keep a lock on him and send Marbles and Me to take care of him. But we hadn't figured on Hacker having help. See, we hadn't really bothered to even look at Happily Ever After, we didn't even know he had taken it over. All we knew was that Motherboard had suddenly registered Hacker's whereabouts, and Dr. Marbles and I left pronto. We didn't realize what sort of a mess we were really getting into until we got to the site."

"How'd he take Happily Ever After over in the first place?" asked Inez angrily.

"Wicked helped him; those two have teamed up again. But even just Wicked and Hacker wouldn't have been enough to take it over. No; we found out what Hacker had been doing for the past five months when the Doc and I reached the place. He'd been raising an army. When we rushed to the Cybersite, we found a few hundred Cyborgs and robots waiting to meet us. It was obvious when we reached Happily Ever After that he'd taken it over by force. The Doc told me to rush ahead and tell Motherboard about what was going on, while he tried to find Hacker."

"Go on," prompted Inez, since Digit had stopped and had begun to stare at the ground.

"The thing is..," he started, concentrated on the ground. His brow was furrowed, as if he was still trying to figure something out—which he was, "The thing is, I'm not sure what happened then. Half-way back to Motherboard I just…I blacked out or something, and when I woke up – I was back at the Control Center and Motherboard was gone."

"Gone?" repeated Jackie, dumbstruck, "What do you mean 'gone,' Didge?"

"Everything was still at the Control Center, all the software and plans and everything except for Motherboard…she just wasn't there. I tried rebooting her, the way the Doc had shown me how in the past but nothing happened. The screen she's on was just black. I don't know what happened to her," he concluded glumly.

"Well," spoke Inez after a minute or two of silence, sounding like she was trying to speak past something that was blocking her throat, "What – what happened then, Digit? What about Dr. Marbles?"

"Oi, the Doc," and Digit slapped his head with one of his metal wings, "They got him. Hacker and Wicked. I haven't seen him since," he sighed, and spread his wings wide, "As you can see, things have been going pretty rough. Hacker's been working on taking over Cybersites by force ever since then. He usually follows the same pattern each time; he storms the site with his army of robots, then takes the Cybersite's leader captive. The people of the site usually have no choice but to obey Hacker after that. I've been spending a lot of my time tracking down old portals, so that I could get the Cybersquad back together. Most of the ones I find are useless because of the virus used to destroy them, but some of them still have enough juice left to make one portal. The thing is, they tend to die out right after making them. I was never sure who would come out with each one, so first I got Jackie, now you, and all I've gotta do now is find one more to get Mattie here."

"You're leaving?" asked Jackie fearfully, "You're leaving us?"

"Only for a bit," replied Digit sheepishly, "I don't want to, but this portal is too far away for me to bring you guys with me. Don't worry, I'll be back, with Mattie, in no time."

"What are we supposed to do while you're gone though?" asked Inez fearfully.

"You guys have to get to Radopolis," replied Digit, his voice serious again, "Hacker's already taken over – in addition to Happily Ever After – Solaria, Castleblanca, Gollywood, Tikiville, and Eco-Haven. This site, Shangri-La, is going to fall any day now. I meant to have you guys both show up on Radopolis but like I said, these portals ain't workin' so hot."

"Radopolis? Why there? And how are we going to get there?" asked Inez, beginning to stand up now.

"The Cybercoupe is ready, just take it to Coop's Garage. And you have to go there because that's the place Hacker is really focusing on right now. Shangri-La was an easy take-over for him, and so were most of the other sites, but he's been trying to take over Radopolis for six months now."

"Why's it so hard for him?" asked Jackie, also standing now. Digit began to hover so he would be at eye-level with both of them.

"Radopolis was one of the first Cybersites to employ a 'Site-Shield,' a new type of 'armor' that all the Cybersites are starting to use. It's an enormous field of electricity that covers the outside of the Cybersite, so there's no way for ships, or Cyborgs, to get in and out. It takes Hacker a much longer time to figure out how to get rid of the shield. That, and the Radsters have been putting up quite a fight."

"Wait, time-out. If this shield doesn't let ships and in and out, how do we get in?" asked Inez pointedly.

"Radopolis doesn't have the field anymore. Before, you had to get in with this," Digit rummaged within his built-in drawer and produced a small, metal rectangle with the numbers '0829' etched into its side, "You would insert this into a certain slot in the Cybercoupe, and you would be allowed to travel through Radopolis's field easily. Obviously this key is very important, and so were all the other keys that let you into Radopolis. But Hacker got a hold of the key and got his ship, and his army, into Radopolis."

"How did he get the key?" asked Jackie, "I don't understand, how is Hacker getting all these things done without anybody knowing how?"

"We know how he got the key," replied Digit glumly, "You guys remember Slider, right?"

"Of course!" replied Jackie quickly, "Why?"

"Hacker claims that…that Slider gave it to him," finished Digit, sighing.

Both of the girls gasped in horror. "Slider would never do that! He wouldn't give Hacker something as valuable as the NIC before, why would he give Hacker the key to Radopolis now?" asked Inez, horrified.

"We don't know. But the point is, Hacker's in Radopolis so that's the place we'll be sending you."

"What about Slider? What happened to him?"

"Again, we don't know. King Dudicus exiled him, but we haven't seen or heard from Slider since the King banished him. Some of the Radsters say he's living with Hacker, though. You guys can see for yourself when you get there; the Cybercoupe is parked on the edge of this camp. I've gotta go now, there's no time to waste," The Cybird smiled, and for a second it seemed almost like old times.

"Tell Matt we said 'hi' when you find him," replied Inez, "Good luck, Digit."

"Yea, good luck Didge," said Jackie, smiling slightly.

Digit nodded, then turned and flew off into Cyberspace, with Jackie and Inez watching after him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

He was awake, he realized reluctantly. Matt didn't want to open his eyes, didn't want to fully realize and accept that he was awake, so he kept his eyes closed, hoping, willing himself to fall back asleep. He doubted sleep would come, though. It was all he had been doing for the past five days and his body was sleeped-out by now. Sighing, he realized he would have to wake up sometime. Blinking, he slowly got up from the hard, metal floor he had been sleeping on, ignoring his sore body. The floor's steel, unforgiving surface had left Matt feeling rather un-refreshed each morning, and he was beginning to desperately miss his bed. Massaging his neck, he took in his surroundings, as he did every morning. And, as he noted every morning before, they remained unchanged.

He was in a small, cramped cell, devoid of any sort of furniture. The only other objects in the room, besides Matt, were his backpack, eight empty cans and bottles tossed in the corner, and a spoon. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of simple, unpolished steel. There was a door directly in front of him with a very small, thick, glass window in the middle of it. Matt hadn't seen anybody or anything pass that window since the day he had arrived in his small cell.

* * *

He and his family had just come back from a two week vacation on the beach. Matt, exhausted, had flopped onto his bed as soon as he'd arrived home, resolving to unpack the following morning. Just as he had been about to drift off to sleep, a shockingly bright portal had appeared at the side of his bed. Matt, too dumbfounded to move, had simply sat on the edge of his bed, staring uncertainly at the portal. It had been seven years, and this portal seemed almost too good to be true. He remembered how he had slowly gotten off his bed and hesitantly stepped towards the portal, grabbing his backpack off his bed as he did so. His face had been but an inch away from the portal when he'd heard a loud exclamation from the other side, and a hand suddenly pushed its way through the portal and towards him. Matt made to step back quickly, but found his path blocked by his bed. The green hand had reached forwards quickly, groping the air in an attempt to grab onto whatever its goal was. That goal turned out to be Matt. He'd been horrified to see the hand grab onto the neck of his shirt, and see its grip tightening. The sight of that hand seemed to send an electric shock through him, waking him up to the situation. He tried leaping back again, but as before, hit only the side of his bed. The hand began to pull him back, and he'd dug his heels into his floor, wrapping his fingers around the menacing, green hand. Struggling, he tried to free himself, but another green hand shot out of the portal, grabbing his neck and then forcibly pulling him. Gagging, Matt continued to try to pull back, but it was useless; in a matter of seconds, he found himself flying head-on into the portal. There was a rush of air, and then he was in Cyberspace once more, gasping for breath at Hacker's feet.

* * *

Matt cringed at the memory. It was all he thought about, all he dreamed about. Hacker hadn't even bothered to say anything after Matt had arrived; he'd simply snapped his fingers and two robots had whisked Matt away and into the cell he currently resided in. The teenager had been surprised to note that neither of the two robots were Buzz or Delete; he'd never seen them before. With all the time he'd had to himself for the past five days, he'd done nothing but think about what was happening. He had no way to warn Jackie or Inez about what had happened, he didn't even know how Hacker had managed to escape from Control Center. He'd spent his first day searching for a way to escape, remembering when he'd been trapped in the Control Center with Dr. Marbles and the rest of the Cybersquad. Dr. Marbles had found a way out through the garbage disposal, but it seemed like Hacker's ship had nothing like this. He had given up on trying to find a way to escape. He was sure that there was a camera somewhere in his cell, since every time he woke up there was a bottle of water and can of cyberbeans waiting for him. He never saw anyone actually leave this food for him; people only entered his cell when he was asleep, apparently. There was nothing in his backpack – which he had been permitted to keep – that could help him. All he had was a journal, pencil, yo-yo, some pictures and a small bag of fruit snacks that he'd decided to save.

Looking morosely about him, Matt retrieved his yo-yo from his backpack. He'd been using it repeatedly over the last five days, not to help him think, but to use as a way to help him keep his sanity.

* * *

"He's yo-yoing again, Boss!" cried Buzz from the control room. He had been spending most of the day spinning in his chair. It was so high off the ground, and the seat so wide, that Buzz's stubby little legs hardly reached over the edge of it. This was something the spherical robot enjoyed immensely; it made him feel taller for some reason.

"You imbecilic moron!" roared Hacker from deck of the ship, "I already _told _you, I don't care what that uninteresting Earthling does anymore! Don't bother me with that brat's brainless behavior anymore!"

"Oh, right…sorry Boss," replied Buzz, ceasing his spinning. Spinning his chair was something he enjoyed, and now that he'd upset Hacker, he didn't feel he deserved to be enjoying himself. Not when Hacker was angry again. After all, he _had _already told Buzz before that he didn't want anymore reports on the Earth kid's actions.

"Don't worry, Buzzy," piped a voice from the back of the room. Buzz spun his chair around – not too quickly, though, so as to make sure he wouldn't really enjoy the spinning – to greet Delete, who had just crossed into the control room, "I forget things all the time, and the Hacker will forget about it soon. Especially since we're gonna get Shangri-La any day now. That's what the Hacker says, anyway."

Delete moved over to sit in the other high, spinning chair next to Buzz. His legs actually hung over the edge, unlike Buzz's, but they were still far away from the actual floor.

"I know, DeeDee, but I still feel bad when he gets angry," replied Buzz, turning back to look at the video monitors that spanned across the wall. Monitor 31C showed Matt standing by himself in his cell, playing with a bright blue and red yo-yo.

* * *

"What are we gonna do with the kid, Boss?" Delete had asked five days ago, after Hacker had thrown the newly-arrived Matt into his cell.

"Nothing at all, my contemptible companion. We're simply going to keep him here," replied Hacker, grinning at the monitor that showed the former Cybersquad member. They were all standing together in the control room, Delete, Buzz, Hacker and Wicked, watching their new arrival.

"But uh, Boss, why not get the rest of them, too?" asked Buzz, watching Matt as he made his way around the cell, banging on the walls in an attempt to find a way out.

"Because we can't! We were lucky enough to get the portal that allowed us to capture _this _meddling Earth-brat," he replied angrily, adding under his breath, "I shouldn't have had him infect _all _those portals with viruses."

"Who, Boss?" asked Buzz, catching what Hacker had said.

"Nobody, you eavesdropping idiot!" roared the green Cyborg in reply.

"At any rate," chimed in Wicked, leaning heavily against Hacker's arm, to his annoyance, "It's better to have that Earth-kid stuck here, where he can't do anything to damage my Hackie-poo's plans, right, sweetie?"

"Right," grumbled Hacker, and then, coming to his senses once more, "Enough of this! Buzz, watch the captive; tell me if he starts doing anything. Come, the rest of you – we have Cybersites to take over and no time to waste!"


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: More explanations. Sorry about all the long dialogue, but it has to be there or I get paranoid. Heh.

Chapter IV

"Careful, Jackie, careful!"

"Take a chill pill, Inez. I've been doing this for ages."

"Jackie, you haven't landed the Cybercoupe for over seven years! You – CAREFUL!"

"Inez, please! I can't drive with you breathing down my neck all the time!"

"Jackie, you _just _missed that meteor! You've got to focus, Jacks. You can't just –

WATCH OUT!"

"INEZ! I _saw _that – whatever it was – and I _wasn't _going to crash! Geeze! Stop being a backseat driver, already."

"I am _not _a backseat driver," huffed Inez as she sank further back into her seat, slightly miffed.

"Sure you aren't," replied Jackie, rolling her eyes, "Look, we're almost there; I can see Radopolis already."

Inez straightened up then, leaning on the dashboard in an attempt to get as close to the front window as possible. Sure enough, the Cybersite Radopolis was becoming more and more visible. Even from far away, though, Inez could see that the site had changed vastly in the past seven years; or maybe jut the past two, ever since Hacker had begun his war on all of Cyberspace.

"Uh, you might want to sit back, Inez."

"Why?"

"Well, because I'm going to have to land soon, and those are always a bit jerky…"

"Good point," replied Inez, and, not wanting to end up flying through the windshield, sank back into her seat again and buckled herself in.

"Look!" exclaimed Jackie, taking one hand off the steering wheel to point to something outside Radopolis.

"Both hands on the wheel Jackie!"

"Alright, alright, but look!"

Inez craned her neck forward to look in the direction Jackie was pointing. She sucked her breath in quickly, growing anxious at what she saw.

"That is what I think it is, right?" asked Jackie uncertainly.

"That's the Grim Wreaker, alright," replied Inez, nodding, "Or else a ship that bears an uncanny resemblance to it. Hacker must be on Radopolis then; I would have thought he'd be on Shangri-La, seeing as how it'll be under his power soon anyway."

"Yea," said Jackie uneasily, and the two fell silent while Jackie made her way towards the Cybersite. In fact, they didn't talk again until Jackie touched down in front of Coop's garage, which resulted in much shouting from Inez.

"Wow, Jackie, could that have gone _any _smoother?" muttered Inez sarcastically, as she un-buckled her seatbelt and rose from her chair, removing her glasses briefly to make sure they were still intact. She took one step forward and tripped, still dizzy from the eventful landing that had just taken place.

"I _already _said I'm sorry!" replied Jackie angrily, as she made her way out of the Cybercoupe.

"I know," sighed Inez, hoisting herself up and sliding out of the Coupe, "I'm just a little tense, still."

They had landed in front of what had formerly been Slider's Garage, and was now entitled Coop's Garage. The building, like everything else around them, was older and looking worse than when they had last seen it. The large green door that provided the main entrance for the garage was closed. Nervously, Jackie and Inez stepped up to the door, knocking loudly upon its hard, metal surface. They didn't have long to wait. Almost as soon as they had lifted their hands from the door's surface, the sound of gears shifting and engines working filled the air as the door rose to reveal Coop standing in the middle of the garage.

It had only been seven years, but already the Cyborg was starting to more resemble the Coop that the Cybersquad had first encountered, back when he had been prematurely aged by magnetite. His hair was still brown, but large streaks of gray ran through it, and heavy bags rested under his eyes. He smiled at the sight of Jackie and Inez though, and this simple action seemed to make him appear younger.

"Jackie! Inez! You guys made it. Digit said you two would be dropping by – where's the third one? Matt, right?"

"Good to see you, too, Coop," replied Inez, walking forwards, "Digit's looking for another portal to get Matt her right now, actually. He said we should come to Radopolis as quickly as possible, so…here we are."

"Yea…well, you guys better come on in, Digit filled you in on everything?"

"He told us about Hacker escaping and stuff, but we don't really know about what's going on here, other than Hacker got the key to Radopolis's shield and…he's here," Jackie finished awkwardly, remembering too late that it was Slider who had given Hacker the key, and Coop was, after all, Slider's dad.

The old Cyborg didn't seem perturbed at all, though. "Yea, it's been rough around here. We've been managing to hold our own, though, which is more than most of the other Cybersites can say. Hacker's never had so much trouble with taking over a site as he has with Radopolis," replied Coop proudly as Jackie and Inez followed him into the garage. He pressed a button, and the garage door began to slide down again, before he led them into another room. There was a table with a few chairs jammed into the corner, amidst the piles and piles of spare skateboard bits and empty cryoxide cans. Coop gestured to the table, adding, "Sorry about the mess around here, but I haven't had to worry about entertaining guests for a while now. You guys want anything to eat? I don't have much, really, but if you're hungry…"

"No thanks, Coop," replied Inez, pulling up a chair. Jackie was having some trouble with moving her own chair; it appeared to be glued to the ground, "We've got some questions, though."

Coop sighed, "Yea, I figured you would. Well, go ahead; shoot."

"Where did Hacker get this amazing army from in the first place?" asked Inez quickly, "No way he could have willingly recruited so many robots."

"He didn't. He made them."

Inez was left silent, before simply saying, "Oh."

"Digit did some spying, and found that Hacker had built this enormous factory in the Northern Frontier. With enough materials, he can have a hundred robotsproduced in a week's time. Lucky for us, he doesn't usually have enough materials; otherwise we'd already be pretty much overrun."

"How does Hacker control them all?" asked Jackie, "I mean, there's so many of them!"

"We're not entirely sure, but most likely, Hacker's embedded a mild control chip in each robot. This ensures they'll respond and listen to him and only him. They're kind of cheap though. Doesn't seem like Hacker wanted to waste more time and energy on giving each robot a stronger one."

"How many of them are there?"

"A couple hundred, I guess," replied Coop, waving his hand idly, "Don't really know for sure. I have to get my information where I can, I'm not so important that people report to me with everything that's going on."

"Oh. Well…what about the war here? On Radopolis?" asked Inez.

"Are we going to have to fight?" added Jackie quickly, looking nervous.

"I doubt you'll have to fight, you won't even have to be involved with the war if you don't want to," replied Coop, "As for the war, things have been…hard. Ever since Hacker turned his attention to Radopolis, we've been preparing. I don't know if you noticed, but there's an enormous wall that's been constructed around the main city, which includes King Dudicus's thrown. The King's been living underground, actually – we can't risk Hacker kidnapping him. Anyway, the big wall protects us from his ground troops. It's impossible to get over the wall, since it's protected by a shield in the same way Radopolis was. But someone could get in through the wall's gates, or if they forcibly broke them down."

"But we flew over the wall," Jackie pointed out, "How?"

"If that Cybercoupe outside is the one Digit was supposed to give you, then he probably left the card-key that gets you through the city's shield in the Coupe. You guys would be able to pass through."

"Oh. So Hacker's army is trying to get in through the wall?"

"Yea. They haven't done anything for a while now, but we suspect there will be another attack any day now. They've been biding their time, and we're worried they've actually got a plan. The robots aren't that clever, they usually just hack and slash at everything. They are deadly though, so avoid them at all times," explained Coop, his voice serious.

"Deadly?" asked Jackie, her eyes wide.

"Yes," replied Coop, transferring his gaze from Inez to Jackie, "You'd be surprised how many Cyborgs have been lost across all sorts of Cybersites because of Hacker. Do you remember when Hacker managed to produce a type of magnetite specifically geared towards putting Cyborgs to sleep? He used it in Radopolis once in the form of confetti; made us all fall asleep." Inez and Jackie both nodded. "Well, Hacker's managed to mess with magnetite again; he's made it now so that when it makes contact with a Cyborg, all the energy is drained from them, leaving them dead."

"But how does he use this? How can his army use it? Wouldn't they be affected, too?"

Coop sighed again, and Inez noted the gray streaks in his hair for the first time, "Digit's immune to magnetite, remember? Somehow, Hacker's found something that makes every robot in his army immune to it, too. He's still susceptible to it himself, but his army can deal with it fine. They use it in any form possible; knives, bullets – Hacker's army uses actual guns."

"Guns? I didn't even know those existed in Cyberspace," remarked Jackie.

"Well, they do now. Every robot Hacker's made is armed with a gun and a load of magnetite bullets."

"Gah! I don't _understand_!" exclaimed Inez angrily, stamping her foot.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Jackie, who was simply standing behind her chair, as it had refused to move.

"Why does Radopolis have to fend for itself? Why can't the other Cybersites send help? If everyone just worked together..," but Inez stopped, because Coop was shaking his head.

"It would seem like it would work – if you could convince the other sites to actually send aide. No one wants to weaken their own home, even to help another site, because everyone's worried once they do, Hacker will take over their site. It's every man for himself. But the fact that Radopolis has managed to go for so long without being taken means that we might actually receive help, especially if we manage to keep this up."

"What about you, Coop?" asked Jackie slowly, "How have you been doing with this war?"

"I've been doing alright. I don't actually do any of the fighting, I've been manufacturing a lot of the weapons and shields our Radsters use to fight back. I actually created the first shield to protect us from Hacker, you know?"

"I mean, about, ah, Slider," remarked Jackie, "Digit told us, and, we're sorry to hear but…is it true, Coop? It's been seven years, but we never really thought he could change that much…"

The old Cyborg remained silent, gazing intently at the table in front of him.

"Coop?" asked Jackie hesitantly, regretting her question.

"Slider's no traitor," remarked Coop suddenly, "Hacker was the one who said Slide had given him the key. Hacker's a liar and a criminal. But everybody's scared, so King Dudicus decided to have him exiled anyway," he shook his head, "Slide's old enough to take care of himself."

Jackie and Inez exchanged looks. Coop seemed to have said the last statement more for his benefit than theirs, but it seemed to them he had a point. Hacker wasn't exactly known for his brilliant honesty. It was very plausible that he'd simply lied about Slider. But still, how had he gotten the key that had allowed him to enter Radopolis in the first place, then?

"I have…work to finish," muttered Coop distractedly, "You should…there might be something, you can do to help out…just, follow the signs and everything. Radopolis could use all the help it…we…help's appreciated."

The two girls watched cautiously as the old Cyborg rose from his chair, rubbing his scalp and seemingly staring off into the distance. He remained still for a minute, then walked off into another workroom, leaving the two alone.

"Wow," muttered Jackie, sounding put-out, "I wish I hadn't brought that up."

"It's alright Jacks, you wouldn't have known," replied Inez uneasily, "But I guess we should go for now. I guess what Coop was trying to say was we should go see if we can help Radopolis's fighters in any way. He kinda seems like he'd want to be alone right now anyway."

"Probably."

"Well c'mon, let's go."

Inez pushed her chair back, cringing at the loud screech it's legs made against the floor. At the moment, she just wanted to get out as quickly as possible without drawing much attention to herself or Jackie. Coop's sudden change in attitude had worried her; it didn't help that she hadn't known Coop that well in the first place. _Not that he's a bad person or anything_, she reminded herself, _He's Slider's dad, right? He's gotta be a good guy._

_Except now Slider's a traitor, _she remembered again.

"Come on Inez! Let's get out this way, I don't want to have to raise the garage door," whispered Jackie hurriedly, and Inez turned to see her friend disappearing out a back door. It seemed that Jackie shared Inez's idea of getting out quickly and quietly. Glancing back at the workroom, Inez moved to follow Jackie out of Coop's garage and into the rest of Radopolis.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V

Matt had a plan. Or so he hoped. It wasn't much of a plan, he'd realized, but seeing as how limited his options were, he decided it was all he really had to go with. He had already concluded that the only way in and out of his cell was through the door in the front, and the only time this door was actually opened, he realized, had to be when the can of cyberbeans and water was slipped into his cell. But this only seemed to occur when he was asleep. Logically, he decided, he'd have to be asleep for the door to be opened – or he had to appear to be sleeping. Of course, then there was still the matter of how he would get off the ship, but he'd decided to worry about that after he actually escaped – assuming he could even accomplish that. Fingers crossed, Matt lowered himself to the ground, curling up with his backpack under his head, and appearing to all the world, or to the camera perched somewhere in his cell, at least, to be asleep.

ooooo

"What do you think, Hackie-dear? Wouldn't it be _lovely _to have Aquari-yum? I don't see how you can prefer _Cyberia _over it! I mean, it's so _cold_, I don't see the point of even bothering with it in the first place."

Hacker was sitting in his re-charger chair, squeezing the arms of it so hard one of them had started to break. Wicked was in front of him, exclaiming about Aquari-yum and how superior it was to Cyberia. Hacker's eye twitched unpleasantly as she went on to describe Aquari-yum's various supply of items and materials that would be so useful for her and her potions. Many times the green Cyborg had been tempted to drop Wicked back on Happily Ever After and forget about her, but such an action would be impossible. Her magic _was _useful, and she was the reason Happily Ever After was under his control in the first place.

"For the _last _time, _Wicked_…As you so _brilliantly _put it, Cyberia is _cold_. Ice, as you _should _know, is a key ingredient in the process for making my magnetite bullets! It takes too much effort to keep freezing and creating our own ice; it slows down the process. If we had Cyberia, we would increase our weapon production by 10! Radopolis would _already _be mine if we didn't have a shortage of bullets and blasters. That is why we need Cyberia next, and _not _Aquari-yum!" growled Hacker.

"Ooh, but _Hack_—"

"You!" exclaimed Hacker, whirling his chair around and cutting off Wicked, "Where are you going?"

Buzz froze in his path, a can of cyberbeans clutched in his hands, "Just to feed the p-prisoner, Boss…"

Hacker remained frozen, before barking, "Right! Go feed the earth-brat!"

"That's a nasty twitch you've got there, Boss."

"GO!"

"Right, Boss!"

Hacker watched as the stumpy, green robot waddled off towards the back of the ship to the door that would lead beneath the ship's deck, where Hacker had fashioned a temporary prison for his various captives. At least, it had been intended to be temporary. Yet no plans for a new prison had been constructed.

"Hackie-dear? Are you alright?"

Without moving, Hacker shifted his gaze towards Wicked, who was staring at him with a mixture of concern and annoyance. The sight of the Wicked Witch sparked an idea in Hacker's mind, and as the idea grew, so did his smile.

"Hackie?"

"Wicked…my –"

Wicked didn't get to find out what she was to Hacker, not at the minute, anyway. Delete came barreling into the room, yelling loudly.

"Boss! Boss!"

"WHAT?" roared Hacker, whirling around to face Delete. Cowering under Hacker's gaze, Delete could hardly squeak out his next few words.

"The – the kid, Boss, he's, he's –"

"Out with it, you dithering dunce bucket!"

"He's gone, Boss!"

oooo

He'd had to wait an hour before something finally happened. Matt was surprised he hadn't actually fallen asleep, waiting for the door to open. He was bored, but then, he'd been bored for the past five days anyway. _Of course I'm the one who ends up trapped in a small room with nothing to do, _he thought idly, remembering how his friends always chastised him for being too impatient. Jackie and Inez, he recalled, had been particularly fond of bring up this weakness of Matt's. The sudden creaking of a door opening shocked him out of his thoughts though, and he lay deathly still, slowly opening his right eye to see what was going on.

It was his door that was opening, and Matt could see one small, pale green hand reach inside, its fingers wrapped around a can of cyberbeans. Matt reacted quickly, rushing towards the door and kicking his foot through the small opening. There was a loud _clunk _as it collided with whoever was on the other side. After forcing the door open all the way, Matt could see Buzz lying on the ground, eyes spinning. He'd had managed to scramble Buzz's circuits temporarily, but not wanting to wait around and see how long it would take for them to unscramble, Matt decided it would be best to move quickly. Ducking back inside the room to grab his backpack, he kicked Buzz inside the cell and shut the door. Turning around, he saw there were only two ways to go: right or left. Right looked better to him, so he turned and began running down the steel corridor, bracing himself for whatever he might meet ahead of him.

oooo

"What do you mean, _gone_?" yelled Hacker, already rushing towards the door through which Buzz had disappeared just a few minutes earlier.

"Well he's, he's not in his room," replied Delete, trying to match Hacker's speed, despite his awkward build. Delete had been manufactured to listen and carry out orders, but, _I was never made to run_, he thought to himself.

"Did you check the OTHER video monitors?" roared Hacker, running down the spiral stairs so quickly it looked more like he was just falling down them. Delete actually was.

"Er, no," replied the robot as he tumbled down the stairs, head over heels.

Before Hacker got a chance to respond, Delete came crashing into his backside, sending him flying off the stair's landing and onto the ground.

"You idiot!" yelled Hacker, his voice muffled due to the fact his face was still in direct contact with the floor, "Watch where you're going, you maladroit mechanism!" This time his voice was much louder, as he'd picked himself up now and was already on the move, jogging towards Matt's cell as fast as his shorts, disproportional legs would carry him.

oooo

Matt raced past the other cells lining the walls, his mind counting how many seconds he'd be gone from his own cell, while he also wondered how long it would take before his absence was noted. Not long, he realized, rounding a corner.

A large, familiar green Cyborg was in front of him, hurtling down the steel corridor Matt had just been about to run up. He looked livid, and his rage only seemed to grow at the sight of Matt.

"Get _him_!" yelled Hacker. Matt wasn't sure who he was yelling this direction to, but he decided he didn't want to wait around and see. He turned around and began to run back the way he had just come, passing by his cell. _Think, _he told himself, _think. This is the Grim Wreaker, right? You've escaped from it before, you should know the way out. _He was sure he did, but it'd been seven years since he'd last been on the Wreaker. Turning around another corner, he dimly remembered that if he went left next time, he should reach a door that would lead him to another set of stairs, which should take him to the control panel of the ship. Behind him, he could hear Hacker, who didn't sound like he was catching up, but the green Cyborg was still too close for comfort, Matt decided. Turning a sharp left, he found himself facing a door, just as he knew he would be. Quickly, he yanked it open.

Only to find himself staring into a closet.

Confused, Matt stuck his head inside it, looking all around to see if maybe the various mops, brooms and cans were blocking the staircase he was sure was supposed to be there, but saw nothing. With the noise of Hacker's approaching foot steps ringing in his ears, Matt threw himself into the closet, shutting the door and holding his breath. His hand was still on the door knob, and his grip tightened as the sound of Hacker's heavy breathing became audible, even through the door. Matt guessed that the Cybersquad's old enemy was approaching the door. He felt pressure applied to the doorknob from the other side of the door, and grabbed it with his other hand, ensuring that the knob hardly moved. Hacker, on the other side, jiggled the knob some more, before convinced that the door would not open.

"It's locked!" he declared, and Matt could hear a slight whimper. Delete, maybe? "He's not here! _Turn around, _you dithering dunce bucket! What are you doing, just standing there? _Go!_"

Matt kept his ear pressed close to the door, hardly daring to breath. He could hear the sound of receding foot steps for a bit, and then nothing. Sighing, he stepped away from the door, and hit a shelf behind him.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed. His voice hadn't been in use for five days by now, though, and it hardly came out as more than a whisper. Rubbing his elbow, he tried to look around him and his surroundings, but found the closet to be as dark as it was cramped. Reaching above him, his hand found a small chain hanging from the ceiling. Matt pulled on it, hoping it was a light switch. Instead, a large box above him tipped over, and a huge mess of chains descended from a higher shelf and onto Matt. Cursing as a result of the commotion it caused and the amount of pain he'd felt from having ten pounds worth of metal chain dropped on his head and shoulders, he pressed his ear to the door again, waiting to see if anybody would come to inspect the noise. He waited, silent and still, for two minutes. But seeing as nothing appeared to be happening, he drew away from the door again, carefully shuffling the chains off his body without making too much noise. His eyes had adjusted to the dark, and Matt was able to make out the dim outlines of various objects deposited in the closet to be forgotten or used later. There were a few brooms stuffed in the corner, and a bucket nearby them. But most of the space within the closet had been taken up by the amount of shelves that had been jammed inside the closet, and the boxes upon them. Taking one nearby crate, Matt pulled it out a little and looked inside. There were what looked to be a few gun-like objects inside it, except they were bigger and bulkier than the guns that Matt knew of. Still, he didn't feel much like running around Hacker's ship unarmed, especially with the new robots he seemed to have hired, so Matt withdrew one of the guns from the box and clipped it to his belt. He replaced the crate on its shelf, and began to look through the others, but, other than two more cans of cyberbeans and a small knife constructed of a metal he was unfamiliar with, found nothing of else of interest. He scowled. What he had been hoping for was a map, or key, since apparently, he wasn't on the Grim Wreaker. Or at least, not the same Grim Wreaker he knew from seven years ago. Nervously fingering the new gun at his waist, Matt quietly opened the door to his hiding place, slowly peeking a head outside into the outside corridor, and looking around.

There was no one present. The hallway was quite deserted. Breathing heavily, Matt left the small storage spot, shutting the door behind him and hearing a small _click _from the door's knob as he did so. He moved forwards quickly and quietly, careful to look around corners before running around them. He was surprised about two things. First, that he hadn't run into anyone, and secondly, that he also hadn't managed to find another door. It was as if he was trapped in a steel labyrinth, and this worried Matt. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go before being caught. He was also concerned about the fact that he wasn't really sure where he was going. Matt was attempting to get to the hull of the ship where, on the Grim Wreaker he'd known, there was a small landing pad where one or two little ships were usually docked. If he could make it there, he was sure he could escape from Hacker's ship and make it into Cyberspace. And once there, it would be easy for him to make his way back to Motherboard at the Control Center.

"Freeze!"

Matt whirled around, unclipping the gun at his belt and holding it up. In front of him were three robots, identical to the ones who had first escorted him to his cell when he had arrived in Cyberspace. They all had their arms raised in a manner that reminded Matt of the zombies he'd seen in the horror films from the '60's, and he couldn't see what direct threat they imposed. Other than the fact they were blocking the path he had been about to take, and none of them looked too happy. Then again, it didn't appear as if their mechanical features could bear any sort of emotion in the first place.

"You are to drop your weapon and allow us to escort you back to room 31C. Release your weapon now, or we will have no other option than to force you to," said one of the robots in grating, monotone voice.

"Oh pl—," Matt stopped in the middle of his sentence as he began coughing, his voice still trying to reacquaint itself with how it should work. As his cough began to subside, the robot that had spoke before moved forwards, saying:

"Release your weapon now."

Matt cleared his throat this time before speaking, "Puh-lease. What are you tin cans going to do to me?"

A small, red bullet shot out of one of the robot's outstretched hands, whirring past Matt's left ear and lodging itself into the wall ten yards behind him. _OK, _thought Matt, _not as harmless as I thought. _Slowly, he began to move backwards, and was disappointed to see the robots match his sloth-like pace, saying again:

"Freeze. Release your weapon now. If you continue to move, we will be forced to shoot."

"Ok," said Matt aloud, trying to buy some time, "How about we reach an…agreement?"

"No compromises are to be made or accepted," replied the robot, rolling to a stop, "Release your weapon."

"Alright," replied Matt, stopping as well, "Well…alright."

He lowered, but did not drop, his gun, walking towards the robots.

"Freeze. Release your weapon before advancing any farther."

Matt stopped, glancing at his gun. In a split second, he had raised it, pulling hard on the trigger. A wide, red arc of light emanated from the gun, hitting all three robots. It couldn't have been just light, though, as each robot was rocked backwards an inch or two. They remained for the most part, however, unharmed. Matt didn't wait for the robots to start firing on him; he leaped forwards, weaving between them and proceeding to sprint down the corridor, his mouth dry as he saw five bullets go speeding past him. He reached the end of the hallway and turned a right. His mind wasn't working; he could hardly think or plan at the moment. He was only dimly aware of the fact that he needed to take a left, and that should lead him to the landing pad. Another bullet sped past him, this one coming so close it actually grazed his right leg. The end of the corridor he was currently in was in sight, and in another second he had reached the end of it, taking a left. At the end he could see a door. _Please don't be a storage closet_, he thought as he ran up to it. He was going so fast he practically slammed into the door to stop himself. Despite the fact that his mind was racing, and the only thought occupying his head right now was _Don't die_, Matt was surprised to find that his hand was quite steady as it grabbed the doorknob, and turned it.

The door swung open to reveal a large, spacious room, the back wall of which seemed to be a large expanse of green glass, through which Matt could just make out the rest of Cyberspace. There was a very small ship parked in the middle of the room. Hurrying, Matt leaped out of the corridor, slamming the door behind him and racing towards the ship.

A high-pitched cackle pierced the air, and Matt instinctually whirled around, pulling the trigger on the gun again. He'd fired in the completely wrong direction though, he realized as he looked up. There was a flash of white light, and he crumpled to his knees. The last thing he'd seen before he'd been claimed by unconsciousness was a triumphant Wicked, her wand held aloft as she mouthed the spell that would stop Matt in his escaping-tracks.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow, so ok the other chapters are gonna take longer to get up -- when I started the story, I had a plan written up that outlined the first six chapters, so now I have to figure out how the rest of the story is going to work out. Just a heads up there...I'd really like to actually finish this story though. I hate leaving stories hanging. But yea, just so you guys know.

* * *

Chapter VI

"Well, now that we've got _that _taken care of," mused Wicked, striding towards Hacker, "What was it you were going to tell me, Hackie-poo?"

"That's _the _Hackie-poo to you!" he barked madly. Wicked jerked back, startled. Hacker's eye twitched again, and then he shook his head fiercely, "Sorry, my dear Wicked, I've just been a little stressed out, what with the recent…happenings, and what not. Actually," he sighed dramatically, "it's this sort of thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"Really?" replied Wicked, curious. Much as she didn't like to admit it to herself, Hacker never really ever turned to Wicked to talk to. She made her way towards Hacker again, her wand, Wanda, keeping close to her heels.

They were back in front of the control panel of the ship, Hacker in his re-charger chair once more. Buzz and Delete were both monitoring cell 31C, to which Matt had been returned after Wicked had succeeded in subduing him. So far, according to Buzz and Delete, he hadn't woken up yet.

"Yes. Really. You see," and here Hacker sighed again before continuing, "This little, prison of mine, shall we say, wasn't ever supposed to remain here! It was just a small, temporary spot to put recent captives until I could move them to a bigger, better _guarded _prison on some Cybersite. But I've never been able to actually establish such a place. I've been too busy taking over various Cybersites, without any time to construct a better sort of place where all my – _our _current captives could be kept. Now I have to worry about things like this going on! Such as having random earth-brats and Cyborgs running all over my ship."

"Oooh, Hackie," crooned Wicked, stroking his wig. That was one thing that had

remained unchanged for the past seven years, "You know…I, well…I could help you out, there."

"Oh, I don't think so Wicked. I don't think there's anything can be done about this," replied Hacker gloomily, though inside, he was jumping for joy – Wicked had, apparently, taken the bait.

"Nonsense!" snapped the witch, moving back now to stand directly in front of Hacker, "My old castle on Happily Ever After had a dungeon below it ten times bigger _and _better than this place. Give me a few robots, and I could guarantee you'd never have to worry about any of these annoying break-outs ever again. Why I'd, I'd even stay there myself."

"Oh, would you, Wicked?" cried Hacker, clasping the witch's hand in his own equally green one, "Would you really?"

"Of course," replied Wicked, blushing slightly, "Anything for you, Hackie-poo."

"Excellent! We can go drop them off there right now, and I'll come and check up on you as often as I can, my darling Wicked." _And by that_, he thought to himself_, I mean never. _

oooo

"I guess they're just set up all along the outside wall," remarked Inez, scanning her surroundings.

She and Jackie had been walking for the past half hour, deciding to locate the army of Radsters before seeing who was in charge of them. Coop had insisted they "follow the signs," but neither Jackie nor Inez had seen anything that would tell them the direction in which to go if one was trying to find said army. So they had decided to go towards the wall that surrounded them, reasoning that there would have to be some sort of guard posted there, and that any sentry they ran into might be able to direct them to the army. The wall was easily visible due to its enormous size and height, and it wasn't long before the two girls found themselves standing directly in front of it, a large group of Radsters camping beneath the battlements. Inez and Jackie had begun to walk the length of the gate, finding more and more Radsters sitting around it.

"Yea, I guess," replied Jackie to Inez's earlier statement, "This is their army? It doesn't look so…organized."

Inez nodded, watching a group of nearby Radsters. They didn't look like soldiers at all. The only thing about them that suggested they were fighting anything at all were the strange guns clipped to their waists.

"Well, if this is the army, then one of these guys have gotta know where the guy in charge is, right? So let's just ask one," said Jackie, watching Inez out of the corner of her eye.

"Yea. You're probably right, let's go ask someone," agreed Inez, sounding tired and worn. The two of them began to make their way through the Radsters and their various camp set-ups.

"What about that one?" whispered Jackie, tapping Inez on the shoulder and pointing towards a lone Radster.

"Sure," replied Inez.

The Cyborg she had gestured to was sitting on a stump by himself, poking at a small fire absent-mindedly. He had long, vivid teal hair that reached past his shoulders and was tied back in a pony tail. He wore a helmet and goggles, and his attire consisted of a baggy, faded blue sweat shirt and black pants, the yellow sneakers on his feet the only things on him that seemed to possess any real color, other than his hair.

"Hi," said Jackie loudly as she and Inez approached him.

The Cyborg looked up, his mouth opening a little at the sight of them.

"We're looking for whoever is in charge of this army. Like a captain or general or something. Do you know where we could find them?" asked Inez.

"Ah – what?" The Cyborg shook his head roughly, as if trying to clear his thoughts, "Sorry, sorry – er, yea. You're looking for Scab."

"We are?" replied Jackie, wrinkling her nose, "Scab? That's a…great name."

"Where can we find them?" asked Inez.

"Just keep walking around the wall. There's a big purple tent, she's in there. Just ask for Scab and tell her what you want."

"Alright, thanks. Let's go, Jacks."

"Awww we have to do _more _walking?" cried Jackie, exasperated, "I've been walking around _for days_! Can't we stop for a bit?"

"You can stay here," quipped the Cyborg, shrugging.

Jackie looked at the Radster, before looking back to Inez. "Can I?" she asked, sounding like a child asking her mother if it was alright for her to stay for a sleep-over.

"Oh alright," muttered Inez, "You stay here, I'll go find Scab and come back for you, alright? Just don't go wandering anywhere else."

Jackie watched Inez walk off in pursuit of the purple tent, before turning back to her latest acquaintance. The Cyborg moved off the stump he had been sitting on, grabbing a small towel from a nearby pack and spreading it out over his former seat.

"You can sit there," he said, placing himself on the ground.

"Oh, thanks," replied Jackie, settling on the stump, "I don't really like getting dirty, you know."

"Yea."

"Yea?"

"I could tell."

"Oh," Jackie remained quiet for a bit, feeling slightly awkward, "Er, my name's Jackie. The girl who was here with me was Inez."

"Cool," replied the Cyborg, nodding, "Name's Half-pipe."

Jackie grinned, "That's a nice name."

He shrugged, then stretched, yawning slightly, "Sorry, I'm a little tired. Hasn't been much going on here."

"Nothing going on? Aren't you guys like, in a war?"

Half-pipe smiled, "Yea but it doesn't look like it right now, right? We've just been sitting around for a while now. Dunno when Hacker's gonna attack again," he nodded behind Jackie, and she turned around. Looking up, she could make out the Grim Wreaker off in the distance, hovering ominously. "It's always there," the Cyborg continued, "He doesn't leave, really, except…" his voice trailed off as suddenly the Grim Wreaker backed up a little, then turned and blasted off into Cyberspace. "Huh," he muttered, "Go figure."

"I guess it doesn't do that a lot," said Jackie, turning back to Half-pipe.

"No, not really…Well, I guess we can just relax now. No need to worry about being attacked while Hacker's not around."

"You sure? Maybe Hacker's just trying to make you all think that or something," mused Jackie aloud.

Half-pipe grinned, "Nah, he'd want to be here. At least, as close to here as he can be, since he can't actually get through the shield," he paused, and although Jackie wasn't actually aware of it, since because of Half-pipe's goggles she couldn't see his eyes, he was looking at her intently while he said, "Too bad about the first one."

"What?" asked Jackie, who had been distracted by the small, still-going fire, "Sorry I, I wasn't really listening."

"Too bad about the first one," repeated Half-pipe, his unwavering gaze locked on Jackie, although again, she was unable to see this, "The first shield."

"Oh. Oh! You mean the first one that covered all of Radopolis. Er, yea. Too bad," she replied awkwardly.

Half-pipe said nothing, still looking at her fixedly, before leaning backwards, turning his gaze towards the sky, "So where are you from? Not here, obviously. Not Radopolis."

"Oh well, I'm from Earth," she answered, feeling like a character in a science-fiction movie.

"Earth?" he sat up bolt-right, "Then…so you really are Jackie from…the Cybersquad?"

Jackie blinked, "Wow, you guys still remember us?"

"Remember you! You guys were everywhere a while ago. Radopolis still remembers when you guys beat Hacker in that skate-off, and that was _years _ago. What happened? Motherboard got fixed up and suddenly the Cybersquad disappeared," he paused, brow furrowed, "Where have you _been _all these years?"

"Uh, _what? _Mother B said no one needed us anymore. We haven't been able to get to Cyberspace 'til now, and it's only 'cuz Digit has been going crazy trying to find working portals. Believe me, we'd have been here way sooner if someone had just sent us a portal," replied Jackie, slightly irritated.

"Motherboard stopped?" said Half-pipe blankly, as if he had only just heard her first sentence, "She stopped having you guys come and help?"

Jackie shrugged, "She said she didn't need us really. And she didn't, right? I mean this place is like, all hooked up to her so she just does some computer thing and everything goes back to normal. Quicker than us."

"Yea. Sure. That's why everything's so _normal _right now," he was silent for a bit, and Jackie looked around uncomfortably until Half-pipe said, "Where's Matt?"

"What? How –"

"Matt, Jackie and Inez. The three kids that made up the Cybersquad," he recited dully, "I've seen Inez – but Matt's a part of your group, too, right?" he shifted around uneasily now, "So, if you two are here, shouldn't he be, too?"

"Yea, lots of people seem to be thinking that. Digit's – you know about Digit, right? He was pretty much part of the old Cybersquad. – but anyway, Digit's been searching for another portal. Matt should be here soon. It only took us a day and half to get Inez."

"Well then why hasn't Digit pulled you guys in here earlier?" he asked accusingly, "What took him so long?"

Jackie was a little affronted by Half-pipe's anger, and was beginning to wish she had gone with Inez. "All the portals were destroyed…Digit hasn't been able to start recovering them until recently. Otherwise, I'm sure he would've tried to bring us back here ages ago."

Half-pipe nodded, seemingly willing to accept Jackie's answers, if not somewhat grudgingly. The radster turned his face back to the small fire in front of him, still scowling a little. Jackie had been about to break the uncomfortable silence, when Inez suddenly appeared and did it for her.

"Jackie!" she yelled, running towards the pair and waving her hand, "Come on! We've got a job helping the medical team here – and Scab says we've got to hurry n' come learn as much as we can, before Hacker attacks again."

"What? Medics? Are we gonna have to be working with like…sick and wounded people?" Jackie wrinkled her nose, "Can't we just…I dunno, don't they have some math questions or something that needs answering? Why can't we go back to doing that? Much less…nasty."

"Come on, Jackie," sighed Inez, grabbing her friend's hand and beginning to drag her back in the direction she, Inez, had previously come from, "This isn't like what we used to do. There's a war going on here, and we've got to help in any way we can."

Inez rolled her eyes, waving goodbye to the radster Jackie had been talking to, as the latter was unwillingly carted off to learn how to treat battle-worn Cyborgs.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Yea, just to follow up with that last A/N...it's going to be taking me a _long_ time to get more chapters up. Now that school is approaching (nooo!) I'm going to be alot busier and I won't have as much time; it could take as much as a month or two for me to get another chapter up. I will try to keep doing these, though -- there's so much I've got planned and still have to write down!

* * *

Chapter VII

He blinked, slowly becoming aware of the fact that he was waking up upon another cold, hard surface. _That's been happening too often, _Matt thought, rubbing the back of his neck as he slowly hoisted himself off the floor. Looking around, he was surprised to see he wasn't in the same small, steel cell he had been contained in for the past five days. Now he was in what really appeared to be an authentic sort of cell from an old, medieval dungeon. The walls were constructed of large, black stones, piled on top of each other and kept together by ancient mortar that was starting to crumble away. Matt lifted one of his hands to touch the wall, finding the stones damp and covered in mold. He shivered, realizing just how cold it was. The old-fashioned, wooden door, with the iron hinges and bars that constituted a small window in the middle of it, really completed the cell's ancient look. Turning around, Matt gave an involuntary jump – he was surprised to see a figure, sitting on a small cot on the side of the room.

"Matt?" said the figure softly.

"Er…yes?" he replied, backing towards the door. The figure rose from its sitting position, crossing the small distance of the cell towards Matt. Although it was dark in the room, light from the outside hallway managed to make its way inside the cell. Now, as the figure walked into the path of the light, Matt's eyes widened in surprise. He was dumbfounded, but only briefly. Two seconds later, he had thrown himself forwards, hugging the girl in front of him tightly.

"Creech!"

Matt hadn't even be that close with Creech seven years past, but now, after being secluded for five days, with no idea as to what was going on, where he was, what would happen to him…seeing a familiar face, a friendly one, at least, was an experience he wanted to hold on to. Which he attempted to do, almost throttling the tall, turquoise-haired girl in front of him. Creech didn't object; she seemed to be holding onto Matt for the same reasons he was to her. Both of them had been alone and imprisoned for far too long, and the sight of someone else was just too good for them to believe. They both held onto each other in attempt to prove to themselves that this new stroke of luck wasn't a dream or illusion.

"But," started Matt, finally pulling away from the Cyborg, "What're you doing here?"

She, like everything else, had changed. Although Creech's hair was still its customary shade of turquoise, it was one of the few things that remained unchanged about her. Her customary tropical garb was tattered and dirty, her skin cut and scarred. Matt still had no idea as to what was going on in Cyberchase, and so wouldn't have known that Creech's injuries had been obtained as she had fought to defend Tikiville from Hacker's army.

She smiled, "I was going to ask you the same question, Matt. You've got to admit, it's more abnormal to find you here than me."

"Oh, well, yea," he grinned, "I guess you're right but, honestly, I don't know what I'm doing here at all. One day I get pulled back into Cyberspace, next second I'm stuck somewhere in Hacker's ship – now I'm here. I guess," he looked around him, doubtfully, "We _are _still in Cyberspace, then?"

"Yes. This is Wicked's castle."

"Wow," he shook his head, still grinning, "I mean, not about the castle, it's just – I mean, being here, seeing you…Man…I guess it's really…it's been so long, you know?"

Creech nodded, sitting back upon the small cot, "Yea, six, seven years or

something. Everyone's been wondering where the Cybersquad went."

He laughed, "Wow, you still remember us! You still…geeze…" He ran a hand through his hair, laughing softly in a manner that seemed to almost suggest that Matt was becoming slightly unstable, "I still can't believe it…it's been so long – too long."

"Yea," replied Creech, cocking an eyebrow, "My sister – my youngest, she just started school – she came home one day all excited because she was learning about you guys in history."

Matt stopped laughing, looking up at Creech, "I'm a history lesson?" Creech nodded. "And you have a sister?" he turned his gaze back to floor. "I didn't know that."

"Well, she's six," she replied, shrugging, "So I mean, you wouldn't have…known, that is."

"Yea…that's true." They were both silent, and Matt, leaning against the damp wall, shifted his weight awkwardly, "So…what's been going on?"

Creech shrugged, "Just war, really."

"Ah, _what_?"

Creech smiled bitterly, "I thought you wouldn't know. Cyberspace has been at war for the past two years I guess. Hacker escaped," she added, seeing Matt's confused face, "And started taking over sites. I'm here because I was still Tikiville's leader when he finally conquered us…I guess he's made it a habit to take the leaders of the sites he conquers…."

Matt laughed again, and Creech eyed him warily. It'd been seven years, sure, and she didn't really remember Matt so well but, all the same, she was a little confused.

"Hacker escapes. Of course. And Motherboard doesn't even…doesn't even ask us for help," he looked up, grinning madly, "Wonder why that is?"

"Um…how long have you been here?" asked Creech, concerned.

"Five days. You?"

"Eight…months…um…are you, you know…ok?"

"Sure," his grin suddenly vanished as if it had never been there, "Eight months. That's a long time. I guess you don't hear anymore news about what's going on outside?"

"No. I don't even know why we moved here in the first place."

"Moved? What? Where?"

"Here…to Wicked's castle, from Hacker's ship."

"_So_!" exclaimed Matt, "It _was _his ship!"

"Yes…it was."

Matt narrowed his eyes, glaring at Creech, "It just didn't seem like it."

"Look, Matt, are you alright? How have _you _been the past seven years?" asked Creech, rising from the bed and crossing over towards Matt, "Has anything – has anything happened?" She extended her right arm forwards, reaching towards Matt's forehead.

"Anything _happened_?" snapped Matt, jerking out of the way and slapping Creech's hand away. The Cyborg drew back, offended, "No, nothing's _happened_. I just got _sucked _back into here after _seven _years, _seven _years after someone told me I'd never see this place _again_, never see my old friends _again_. And then someone…someone brings me _back _and all they do is lock me away and I have no idea what's going on and I'm back but all _alone_," he seethed, "And…all I have is cyberbeans! I really…I really _hate _beans, you know that?"

"Matt," started Creech, who made no attempt to move towards him again. She was starting to feel more sympathetic. Although she was slightly annoyed with him for going crazy after five days of containment, when she had been locked away for eight months, she hadn't been alone, and she had known what had been going on, at least. "I'm sorry. But if you're here…if Hacker could get you here, then there must be other ways for the rest of the squad, for Jackie and Inez, to get here, too."

"Get here. Of course they can get here," he replied darkly, "They could always get here. But no one wanted us, huh?"

"Everyone wanted you guys here! But…I guess no one else really knows but, I was talking to Digit – just before Tikiville was overtaken and he told me how hard he was trying to get you guys back here – there are no portals, Matt! Or there, weren't, at any rate. Digit had no way to get you guys back here – Motherboard and the portals and everything had all disappeared."

"Motherboard…" he looked up, "She's gone?"

"Yea. She disappeared after Hacker returned."

"I don't get it! How'd he do that in the first place!? How does he…how does he _always _do that?"

She smiled, "Matt, you want to sit down here? I think you need to calm down."

"Gah, you're telling me!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as he sank onto the small cot, "You know, I think we really gotta get out of here."

oooo

"C'mon, quickly now…I know you work!"

The purple Cybird was sweating profusely as he tampered with the small, green gadget in front of him. He was constantly pausing in his work to look over his shoulder, the surrounding foliage doing nothing to help him feel safe. The dying forests of Eco-Haven remained quiet, the only sounds the soft rustle of the pale trees as a light breeze brushed past their leaves. Digit had yet to see any animals, or that crazy Nero, who had refused to leave the Cybersite – even after Hacker had conquered it. But it wasn't the site's natives that Digit was really worried about, so much as the robots that he knew would be patrolling Eco-Haven. He'd been lucky so far; the Cybird hadn't encountered a single living thing.

"Yes!" he whispered triumphantly, as the portal-maker in his hands uttered a low beep. Digit quickly typed in a few commands using the keys at the bottom of the gadget; now that it had been activated, he had only a few minutes before the virus kicked in once more and rendered the portal-maker forever useless. The green, metal box began to emit a low, humming noise, and a large, shining circle began to appear in front of Digit. The purple Cybird watched eagerly as the circle in front of him began to spin, its brightness casting a purple glow upon his surroundings. Digit waited, his smile frozen upon his face as the seconds passed, slowly stretching into a full minute. Deep down, the Cybird felt that something was wrong.

"Mattie?" he whispered, eyes glued upon the shimmering, purple portal. But still, nothing happened. The gadget and his hand began to vibrate, and started clicking violently. Digit held his breath as the portal in front of him began to diminish, until he was left staring at the empty air.

"It didn't work…?" _But it had worked…the portal appeared, it went to the right coordinates…if it didn't work…then that means Matt isn't there. And if he isn't there, then…_

"Then he's already here…"

oooo

"So, who was the guy you were talking to anyway? When we got here?" asked Inez casually. The two of them, Inez and Jackie, were standing on the battlements of the large wall. Off in the distance they could see the Stokified Forest, where they had been informed was where Hacker's army rested. The two had been sent up to keep watch, since the medic tent didn't need any extra help at the moment. Most of the fighting for the Radsters took place on the inside of the wall, so the battles didn't produce as many injuries as the two girls would have thought; those Radsters who were wounded generally were those who were sent to the Forest to act as spies. Seeing as the Grim Wreaker was currently away, no one was really expecting an attack – which only made Jackie and Inez more apprehensive. It had been a week since they had first arrived, and nothing had happened so far; neither of them had even seen one of these famed, lethal robots.

"Oh. Half-pipe?" replied Jackie, surveying the outside of the wall. The rest of Radopolis had been walled off; large, colorful buildings and extravagant skate parks were no more than a few yards away from them; but no one was permitted to leave the walled-off area.

"Yea. I never asked about him."

"He's ok…kinda cute lookin' but, he's also…kind of angry. At us…"

"We've only been here a week – what could we have done wrong?"

"Well I mean, not angry at just _us_, I mean the Cybersquad. He's mad about how it took us so long to get here."

"Well, that's hardly _our _fault, is it?" huffed Inez, turning around now to look at the army of Radsters stretched out below the wall, "Where is he? I'll _really _give him something to be mad about."

"Inez, please," Jackie rolled her eyes, "He's not that bad, really, as long as you don't mention the 'squad. He's just upset! I mean, his whole home is being attacked by a crazy green guy – you'd be pissed off, too, right?"

"Yea, but that doesn't mean he can get mad at us for something completely out of our control."

"Sure. Whatever. But I mean, it's been pretty rough around here. I've been wondering, you know…why would Digit want to bring us back here in the first place?"

"Is there somewhere else you'd rather be?"

"Well, honestly, no. But Didge usually…I mean, this isn't really our scene. War, chaos, destruction?"

"If it's caused by Hacker, I'd say it's 'our scene,' Jacks."

"No, Inez! I mean like…seriously! Sure we used to be really good at saving Cybersites before, but we never had to fight. And now, I mean…I feel like maybe Didge has to have another reason for wanting us here."

Inez shrugged, "I guess."

They both let the conversation slowly wane and die, like a fire no one was interested in watching anymore, as they turned their attention to the Stokified Forest. It was lucky the wall they were perched on was so high, otherwise it would have been impossible to see the forest over the many buildings in front of them. From where they stood, it looked quiet and safe in the distance, and Jackie found it hard to believe that a vast army of destructive robots were lying in wait, just beneath the trees. The forest remained still, and it was Inez who first spotted the change.

"Jackie!" she exclaimed, prodding her friend in the side, "Look! Do you see that?"

Jackie turned and looked in the direction Inez was pointing, and she saw it, too. The entire front line of the woods seemed to suddenly move forwards. And yet it didn't stop; the line continued to move, and lengthen, until Jackie realized it wasn't the woods advancing.

"Inez…those are robots!"

"How very Macbeth-esque," commented Inez, watching the lines of robots that were marching forth from the forest. They were still far away, so not much could be told about them other than the fact that there were a lot of them.

"Inez! What are you talking about!? C'mon, we've gottta go and warn someone that—"

But apparently somebody else had already seen the advancing army and had raised the alarm. Cyborgs were scattering about as those ready to fight moved to the base of the wall, and those who were civilians rushed to the center of the town. Although they knew they should report to the medical tent, Jackie and Inez couldn't help but remain on the wall for just a few moments longer, watching the army advance.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

"What're you _doing_?" roared a voice from below, and Jackie tore her gaze from the approaching army and looked down to see Half-pipe, glaring right back up at her, "Get off of there! You want to get killed?"

Jackie was so surprised to hear this coming from Half-pipe, it was Inez who acted on the Cyborg's advice.

"He's right – well about us needing to get down. Nothing can really hurt us from up here with this barrier, but… we should go, Jacks," she murmured, before turning and rushing down the long set of nearby stairs, Jackie right at her heels. Radsters were already beginning to line up on the inside of the wall. There were small holes drilled into the wall, so that the Radsters could fight back without actually having to leave the main city. It was impossible for them to shoot from the battlements since the large shield covering them all didn't allow anything to pass over the wall. The two of them rushed towards the large, orange tent that had been propped up far off to the side. In front of it stood a Radster with a clipboard, who waved Jackie and Inez away when he saw them, shouting:

"Alright, I see ya! Get to your positions."

The two skidded to a halt and turned, trotting off to their designated positions. Their job, as they had been informed, was to stand far away from the wall, watch, and wait. If anyone fell or was wounded, Jackie and Inez were to get in there, grab the Radster, and then get them to the medic tent. Jackie found the possibility of any Radsters being wounded to be almost laughable; the only way, it seemed to her, for one of the Cyborgs to be wounded was for a robot to actually shoot through the small holes in the wall.

"It's difficult, though, isn't it?" mused Inez aloud, watching as the Cyborgs in front of them scrambled around the wall, lining up behind the small slots, "I mean, with all the buildings and things in front of them; it's not like any of them have a clear shot. Those robots will have to be practically right in front of us before anyone can shoot them," she sighed, "It's too bad we can't have anyone on the battlements." Jackie chewed her lip worriedly, realizing Inez was right as the younger girl added, "I think the best thing the robots could do would be to try to destroy the wall…I wonder if they've already tried it?"

"Geeze Inez, why don't you just go help the other side plan the battles already?" replied Jackie bitterly, her nervousness translating itself into anger and irritability.

Inez blinked, looking offended, "Sorry Jacks, I'm just trying to think ahead, that's all. I mean…" she let her sentence trail off as the sound of clanking metal filled the air. Both she and Jackie turned to look towards the wall, and though they couldn't see the army, the sound of its advancement was enough to instill plenty of fear into Jackie and Inez. The city was quiet, the tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. The two girls hung back nervously, Jackie scanning the crowd for the familiar mane of long, teal hair. A sudden shot and cry distracted her, though. Inez gripped Jackie's arm tightly, and the older girl turned to see a Radster on the ground, clutching her eye and panting heavily. Jackie wasn't sure what she had expected; blood, at least. But bright, yellow sparks flew rapidly around the Radsters injury, and the only thing Jackie could see that almost resembled blood was the thick, black liquid that slowly oozed down the Cyborg's face. Before either Jackie or Inez had managed to move, two other medics had rushed forwards, one of them grabbing the wounded Cyborg's legs, the other gripping her under her armpits. Together, they hoisted her quickly off towards the medic tent, as another Radster stepped up to take his fallen comrade's place. He placed the lean, alien trigger of his gun on the edge of the hole and bent to look through it.

"They really do shoot through the holes," whispered Inez, "Those robots must have gotten that Radster in her eye…"

Jackie gulped nervously. Despite the sudden excitement, nothing else seemed to be happening. A bunch of Radsters on the left started shooting, suddenly, and the sounds of metal hitting metal filled the air, briefly, before whatever the Radster's had been attacking disappeared.

"Do you think that Cyborg is ok?" whispered Jackie; for some reason, she and Inez seemed to both have the same sort of feeling. That they had to keep their voices soft, that only the Radster's guns had permission to break the eerie silence.

"I think so…it was probably a magnetite bullet, but Coop told us the further it is from a Cyborg's central processing unit or memory bank, the slower it will take for the magnetite's energy sucking abilities to take effect. Still…it must hurt al—"

She was cut off though as a large _thwang _penetrated the air, followed by an earth-shattering _crunch _that made the ground shake. Jackie and Inez looked up to see the thick, tall wall in front of them quiver dangerously, and a few bricks positioned just above the main gate and from the top of the battlements fell from their place, forced loose by an enormous heap of metal that had been violently propelled into the wall by the opposing army.

"Teams A, D, and F! Move out!" roared Scab, who Jackie and Inez were surprised to see was positioned on the battlements. She moved quickly back to the bottom, though, as the Cyborgs stepped away from the wall, "Fire up the emergency barrier! Medic teams A and B! Move out!"

Jackie and Inez ran quickly to the medic tent. Many things seemed to happening at once. A large, shimmering gold shield seemed to suddenly surround the inside wall before becoming mostly invisible; a slight haze was left instead of the golden color. About forty Radsters broke away from the rest of the group and moved off towards the left, disappearing around a group of buildings. Medic teams A and D were also assembling at the large medic tent; Inez had been assigned to A, and Jackie to D. It was only logical, Scab had reasoned, for their human talents to be spread out. The biggest advantage Jackie and Inez presented was the fact that since magnetite wouldn't hurt them, it would be easier for them to treat the wounds of those who had been affected by it. At the same time, the two Cybersquad members still had to be careful; a magnetite bullet sinking itself into one of their hearts wouldn't prove any less fatal than a bullet made of iron or steel. At the tent, they found both teams lined up, so Jackie and Inez split up to join their respective groups. There, the medic head, a short Radster who was never found without a pair of rollerblades on her feet, was hurriedly handing out small, chained necklaces with little chips on the end of them. The medic teams wordlessly took what was handed to them and quickly placed them around their necks. Jackie, slightly confused, simply followed suit, fastening the chain around her neck. Inez glanced at hers briefly, before quickly putting it on, seeming to understand its purpose.

The short Radster was barking instructions, but Jackie only heard a faint buzzing in her ears. She nervously fingered a loose strand of braided hair that had come loose from her ponytail; apparently, she and Inez were going to be thrown outside of the safety of Radopolis and into the heat of battle. She was surprised when the groups turned and begin running off towards the side of the town. She was further surprised when she felt someone yank her by the elbow and begin to drag her along with the medic teams. She turned, expecting to see Inez, but saw instead a familiar looking Radster. It took her brain a few seconds to register that the Cyborg next to her was her assigned medic partner. She wore an enormous pack on her back, loaded with supplies, and didn't even bother to look at Jackie as she hurried along, the Cybersquad member struggling to keep up with her pace. While all her friends had taken up various sports in high school, Jackie had gotten involved in the drama club, which hadn't offered her an excessive amount of exercise. _Maybe_, she thought as she followed her partner, who still had a firm grip on her arm, _I'll take up track or something if – _after –_ this is over._ Meanwhile, Jackie noticed they were following the same path that the large group of soldiers had followed before. The medic groups were headed towards the wall, where two guards held open the doors to the east wall. As the Radsters in front of her passed through the gate, Jackie saw a small shimmer appear about them, until they were outside. In an instant, her brain connected everything. Once the gate had been ruined, an extra shield, exactly like the one that covered the top of the city, had spread to cover its sides, too. The little tags she, Inez, and the rest of the medic team had received must be little keys that would let them through the shield. As Jackie and her partner passed through the gates, she felt her body go hot suddenly, and then return quickly to its normal temperature once they were outside. The medics dispersed, and Jackie could see Inez running head on with her partner, both of them focused on their mission. Jackie's partner pulled her over into an abandoned building, standing by a window as she said to Jackie:

"Were you paying attention at all back there?"

The Cybersquad member was surprised to hear how soft her partner's voice was. The Radster she had been paired with had shaggy, purple hair with green streaks, and was shorter than even Inez. The large pack on her back extended past her head, and Jackie watched as the Radster retrieved a skateboard that had been hanging on the bottom of the pack. She pressed a button, and the board extended itself so that it was soon twice as long.

"Were you?" asked the Radster again.

"No," replied Jackie, slightly irked. She didn't like being treated like a student out of school; she didn't even like being treated like a student _in _school.

"Ok, well, just listen to me. The teams have split up; just listen around you, ok? You hear anyone call for help, tell me. My name's Lien. Get on."

While she had been talking, Lien had gotten into position on the front of the skateboard, and now gestured that Jackie should get on behind her.

"What? We're going to skateboard into battle?"

"You'd rather be with a Radster walking then skating? Get on, and here," she threw Jackie a large, orange helmet that she had just retrieved from the pack, "C'mon, Radsters are dying out there. Let's move."

Sighing, Jackie clipped the helmet on and stood up on the skateboard behind Lien, who indicated that Jackie should probably grab her shoulders or waist so as not to fall off. Gripping her around the waist, Jackie was nearly thrown from the skateboard as Lien shot out of the abandoned house, and soon the two of them were navigating their way down the old streets. Jackie had to admit, Radsters were probably ten times more dangerous on skateboard or bicycle than on their own two feet. They went so ridiculously fast her eyes had gone dry. Regrettably, Jackie closed her eyes, wishing she had some goggles like Half-pipe's. Around her, she could hear the sounds of wheels on pavement, shooting, yelling, and cries for help. They continued speeding along for a few minutes, before they heard a loud call for help, directly in front of them, and Lien sped up.

"Hang on!" she called, and Jackie gripped the Radster in front of her even tighter, risking the opening of her eyes. They were headed straight for a ramp, and a sick dread filled Jackie as she realized just what was going to happen. Lien made no attempt to move to the left or right of the ramp, which lead Jackie to accept the fact that Lien could only be headed towards the ramp. Jackie squinted against the wind as the Lien furiously pushed against the ground, increasing the board's speed. Jackie could feel the difference as the wheels left Radopolis's streets and rolled onto the slick ramp.

"Duck!" Lien cried.

The Cybersquad member closed her eyes tight and ducked as she felt the board go up and up and then…nothing. Lien gave a wild cry of happiness before the board hit the ground of something hard, and she slammed her foot down as the board began to loose speed.

"C'mon!"

Jackie opened her eyes and hopped off the board, looking around. She had expected them to be on the top of a building, but instead she found herself standing on the third floor of an empty house, a large, open window behind her. It took Jackie a second to realize Lien had sped into the house through the window. There was a broken bed in the corner, but otherwise, the room was completely barren. There were stairs leading to the floor below and above, and at the foot of one set were two Radsters. One of them was sprawled out on the floor, faint, electric sparks dancing around his body as a large pool of a thick, black liquid grew around his body. Sitting next to him, but not looking at him, was another Radster, whose gaze was locked on the wall to his left, as if there was something very fascinating on the bare, concrete wall he was looking at. His left hand was holding his right arm tightly, which hung limply at his side and had sparks flying all around it. His face was pale.

Lien rushed towards the Radster lying on the ground, Jackie hurrying after with the skateboard in tow. Her medic partner slammed the pack on the ground and began rooting through it, withdrawing a large, black rubber pad, which she slapped onto the motionless Radster's chest. There was a small cord attached to the pad, which connected it to a small, dark screen that Lien's eyes were currently fixed on. The other Radster, the one who was still upright, remained silent, although his eyes darted towards Lien and his fallen comrade, before returning to stare at the wall.

"What happened?" asked Lien sharply, pulling on a pair of gloves as she removed the rubber pad from the fallen Radster's chest and began to rummage through her bag once more.

"He's shot," replied the sitting Radster, still not looking at Lien, "In the back. We were on the top of the building, shooting down those 'bots. Two of them started shooting back at us. One them got him in the back, probably hit the CPU," he jerked his head towards the still motionless Radster, "I got the 'bot that did it, but the other one hit my arm. Casper got him; he's still up there."

Lien looked up quickly, "There's another Radster upstairs?"

He nodded, "On the roof."

"Is the robot still shooting?" asked Lien.

"Don't know."

Lien had set up a bunch of supplies and turned the Radster in front of her over, revealing an enormous rip in his back. Jackie could see a mix of computer items and organs resembling her own inside, and she averted her gaze quickly.

"Jackie," said Lien, not looking up from her work, "Go upstairs; take the stretcher, find that Radster, bring him down here. Take the communicator, too."

Jackie nodded, taking the small communicator that Lien had indicated and unclipping the stretcher that had been attached to the pack. It was another of Coop's creations. It was a collection of six small, foot-long metal pieces, attached together and then folded up. It was heavy to carry around folded, and very uncomfortable for a Radster to rest on, but it did the job and hovered about two feet off the ground when unfolded. With the stretcher in its carrying case, Jackie slung it over her shoulder and proceeded to climb up the set of stairs that would lead her to the roof. She climbed onto the top, looking around her cautiously. The roof was empty; she couldn't see any Radsters. From where she stood, there was an amazing view. She could see robots still trying to bring down the wall, and other Cyborgs meeting and attacking them. Robots and Radsters flocked the streets, and for a brief second Jackie couldn't help but think how pointless war was. Then she heard a brief yell hit the air.

"Help!"

She turned, but saw nothing. The shout sounded again, and Jackie ran to the edge of the roof. Looking down, she could see another building about six feet away, and on its roof, an injured Cyborg. Jackie looked around nervously. She felt she should go back to Lien and ask her what to do, but she also felt she already knew what her medic partner would tell her. Get to the other building, get the 'borg on the stretcher, and then get him back to Lien. Jackie was about to head back to the stairs when she thought: _it's not very far away…_ She stopped, and looked back at the building the Cyborg was laying on, still calling for aid. She could probably make the jump…

Feeling reckless, at maybe _the _worst time to feel so, Jackie backed up to the end of the building. Taking a deep breath, she began running forwards, moving as fast as she could. Before she knew it she was at the edge and kicked off, her legs still pedaling in the air. She had no time to think about how stupid she thought she was acting as she soared through the air, before coming to a painful stop on top of the other building. She stood, shaking for a moment, before running towards the Radster. Electric sparks danced around his legs, which stuck out at odd angles. He was clutching his head and moaning, now, having given up his cry for help, apparently. Sparks were visible around the place here he held his head, too, and a thick, black liquid drew a small trail down the side of his head to his jaw line.

"Casper?" asked Jackie as she took the stretcher out and unfolded it. He nodded slightly, his eyes closed in pain. At the end of the metal sheet were a row of buttons. Remembering what she and Inez had learned at the medic center, Jackie pressed the purple button on the edge; this kept the stretcher erect and prevented it from folding up. Dragging the stretcher next to the wounded Casper, Jackie dropped it and then moved to the Radster.

"You can't move, right?" she asked. She didn't need to see the Cyborg's second nod to know this; the position of his legs told her enough, "Ok, well, I have to try to move you and it might hurt."

"My legs," he muttered, as she moved to grab him by the arms, "Get my legs."

Jackie crossed over to Casper's other side, picking up the Cyborg's legs as he hoisted himself up on his arms. She could see him gritting his teeth in pain, and she moved quickly to get him set on the stretcher.

"Ok, ok, good," muttered Jackie to herself as she went back to the side of the stretcher and pressed a small blue button. The stretcher made a slight whirring noise and then rose to hover two feet above the ground. Relieved, Jackie began to push the stretcher to the area where she could see a set of stairs, fastening the Radster to the stretcher as she moved towards them. She made her way carefully down the three sets of stairs with the stretcher in tow. Once on the ground floor, she grabbed the communicator she had been keeping in her pocket and pressed a button, talking into it:

"Lien?"

There was a slight pause, then, "Jackie, where the hell are you? Are you still on the roof?"

"No, I'm on the first floor of the red building in front of the one you're in," replied Jackie, "Casper was on the roof of _this _building, so I jumped over and got him. Do you want me to keep moving to your building or wait for you here?"

"I need that stretcher. Get back over here, and then you've got to move this guy back to the inside of the city. He'll be dead soon if you don't move fast."

"Got it."

Sighing deeply, Jackie grabbed the stretcher and steered it out the door, running quickly towards the door of the building Lien was in. She yanked on the door, and felt an icy chill creep up her spine when it didn't open. She grabbed the communicator up to her mouth again:

"Lien, the door to your building is locked. I can't get in."

"Ok, hold on, I'm coming down."

No sooner had Lien said those words than the sound of an approaching skateboard reached Jackie's ears. She turned her head to see a Radster whip around a nearby corner, skidding to a sudden halt at the sight of Jackie and nearly loosing his balance.

"Half-pipe! I'm –"

She was cut off though as Half-pipe suddenly leaped forwards, jamming the blue button on the stretcher, which sank to the ground. He grabbed Jackie and placed her on his skateboard, as he jumped in front of her.

"Hang on!" he yelled after he had already started to move forwards.

"Wait! No! I've gotta help that guy!" cried Jackie, but she already had her hands wrapped around Half-pipe's waist to keep from falling off. Five shots filled the air, and she saw a small barrage of bullets fly past the place they had just been at, before Half-pipe had violently turned; he had been forced to skate away from the main city, Jackie had noticed.

"He'll be fine!" replied Half-pipe, as he skated around a building and began trying to make his way back to the city. More red-shaded bullets flew past, lodging themselves in surrounding buildings.

"Why do you have so many robots after you?" asked Jackie, shouting to keep herself heard above the sound of the approaching robots and the skateboard grinding against the pavement.

"Long story, hold on!"

Jackie held on tighter as he sped up, turning sharply. He was making his way towards one of the main gates, when another robot suddenly appeared out of an alleyway. Jackie didn't even have time to alert Half-pipe, when he grabbed a gun at his belt, aimed, and yanked the trigger. A short blue blast shot out from the gun, hitting the robot that was blocking their path. A large, smoking black hole remained in the fallen robot's head as Half-pipe skated past him, Jackie clinging to him even tighter. He turned to the left, and Jackie couldn't help but groan at the sight of the immense ramp that had appeared before them. Half-pipe began to speed up, and Jackie's grip increased so that by this point, it was a wonder the Cyborg's ribs didn't break. She closed her eyes as they skated up the ramp and then into the air. She kept her eyes shut as they soared higher, when the sound of a shot filled the air. Half-pipe yelled and jerked forwards suddenly, and Jackie let go in surprise, opening her eyes as she did so. She lost her balance and fell off the wobbling skateboard, crashing into the ground.

oooo

Half-pipe just managed to land on the ground, panting heavily as he fell off the board and slid onto the pavement. Turning his head, he could see the robot that had shot them in mid-air. Retrieving the gun from his belt again, he fired one shot, and the robot fell to the ground. The teal-haired Radster stood up, wincing at the pain from his arm. He could feel himself growing tired, and his face paled at the realization that the magnetite bullet that had entered his arm, was still there. Grunting, he grabbed his board and moved quickly to Jackie, gritting his teeth against the pain. He approached the fallen girl, and his eyes grew wide. She remained still, and he dropped to his knees, glancing around him. There were still some robots after him, he was sure. He grabbed her wrist, remembering what he'd learned seven years ago. Humans had a pulse while they were alive. He placed his middle and pointer finger upon her wrist, breathing heavily. There; there it was, he could feel it. She was alive. He stood up, hoisting Jackie up and over his shoulder as he quickly ran back to his skateboard. Kicking against the ground, Half-pipe sped off towards the gate, his breathing growing heavier.

It was dark. Darker than normal. The torch-lights that kept the dungeon hallway lit during the day had been blown out, signaling to those in the cells that it was night outside, since they had no way of knowing otherwise. Matt breathed the cold, damp air in and out as he rested upon the ground. He and Creech had decided on taking turns with the bed. Tonight, Creech slept on the bed while Matt slept on the floor with the pillow and blanket. He wouldn't have minded sleeping on the floor every night, but he knew Creech wouldn't allow him to be chivalrous, even if he wanted to, so every other night he grudgingly accepted his place on the bed, while Creech slept on the floor. For now, though, he could be content to remain on the floor. He could hear Creech snoring softly, and felt irritated at the fact that she had been asleep for almost an hour now, while he still remained restless. He had remained obsessed with the concept of escaping for the past week now, but nothing had come to mind. He stared up into the blackness of the cell. He had no idea where the ceiling was; it was so high up that even when the hallway torches were lit, it still wasn't visible. He sighed, and Creech turned over, the bed's metal frame squeaking. Matt's eyes widened suddenly, as realization dawned upon him. He sat up jolt-right, threw the sheet off him and stood up quickly, crossing over to the bed.

"Creech!" he whispered urgently, shaking the girl's shoulder.

"What!?" she leaped up, looking around urgently, "What's going on?"

Matt, who had jumped back in surprise when she'd sat up so quickly, moved forwards again, "Creech. I've got an idea."


	9. Chapter 9

EDIT: This chapter has been edited and new stuff added as of 1/14/08

Chapter IX

Control Center was silent and empty, the atmosphere surrounding it resembling that of a graveyard. The large, ominous blank screen that had once held the image of Motherboard was completely black, and loomed eerily above the rest of Control Center. Lack of use had allowed dust to settle, coating the room in a thin, gray blanket. There were but two figures within Control Center. One of them stood in the middle, his hands chained tightly behind his back. He stood facing the large screen, but his eyes were cast downward. Off to the side was another man, who sat leaning back in a chair, his feet propped upon the table in front of him.

"Well?" said the man standing in the center of the room, talking after what seemed an eternity, "What do you want?" His slightly squeaky voice rang off the cold, metal walls, and he didn't bother to look behind him to see if the other man would respond.

"Marbles," said the man at the table, and Dr. Marbles, standing in the middle of the room with his hands bound behind him, gulped to hear how low and insidious the voice behind him sounded, "It really pains me to have to stoop so _low _as to order for _your _help. But then, you are the one who has been perfecting this system for the last seven years, so how am I to know how to use it?"

"You can't be serious, Hacker! You think I'm going to help you hasten your take-over of Cyberspace? Why would y—"

"That's _THE _Hacker, to _you!_" roared the man from the table, and Hacker rose from his seat, removing his feet from the table as he crossed over towards Dr. Marbles, "Listen, doctor. I haven't got time for your noble refusals. I've been trying for months to hack this system, but it's different; you've _changed _it, updated it. Tell me, Marbles – tell me how to use it."

"Honestly, Hacker! If you think –"

"I don't _think_, Marbles, I _know_. Because if you don't help me, I'm going to –"

"_Boss! Boss!_"

Hacker whirled around, and Delete, who had just rushed into Control Center, stopped in his tracks. The large, green Cyborg loomed before the small Delete, and for a minute the little robot forgot what it was he had come in for in the first place. Hacker quickly reminded him, however.

"_Well_? Do you have something to _tell _me, you inarticulate apparatus?" he boomed, and Delete quivered in fear.

"Well, boss, um…there's just been on attack on Radopolis…"

"_WHAT? _By who? Who _else _is attacking?"

"N-no boss, it was an attack by y-your robots."

"_MY _robots? _MY _robots? How could _MY _robots attack without _MY _permission?"

"W-well it, it looks like W-Wicked ord—"

"_WICKED_? _WICKED _ordered an un-authorized attack with _MY _robots?" roared Hacker, his eye twitching, "_OUT OF MY WAY!_" He pushed the whimpering robot to the side and stormed out of the room, making his way quickly to the Grim Wreaker.

oooo

Inez was running, a painful stitch in her side developing as she made her way towards the large, orange medic tent as quickly as possible. The guard by the gate had told her that her friend had come in before, looking "pretty bad." She reached the medic tent and rushed inside, looking up and down the many rows of beds, her mind racing. Before the latest attack there had been only two or three Cyborgs occupying the tent; now the facility was filled with wounded Radsters. Inez couldn't see her friend among them though, and turned anxiously towards the desk in the front of the tent.

"Jackie! Where's Jackie? She's the other kid here from earth," explained Inez hurriedly to the Cyborg sitting at the desk.

"She's in the second tent," he replied, not even looking up as he rummaged through a drawer and, after coming up with a roll of silver-colored bandages, rushed off.

Inez rushed out, and once outside, realized there were four tents set up, each with a large black number painted on the side. One of them had a large "2", and Inez quickly made her way inside that one. Scanning the injured soldiers, one bedridden figure stood out to Inez. She ran to the end of the tent where, alone in the corner, Jackie was lying, still apparently unconscious. Inez stood silently by her friend's side, biting her lip as she watched Jackie's chest rise and lower slowly. It wasn't until she heard a small sigh from her left did she realize someone else was there. The teal-haired Cyborg Jackie had been talking to the first day they had arrived in Radopolis was sitting on a stool by Jackie's bed, looking at the Cybersquad member's face with a mix of pain and regret on his own. His right upper arm was heavily bandaged, and he looked pale. His helmet rested by his feet, but his goggles still remained upon his face.

"What happened?" asked Inez shakily, and she saw the Radster jump at the sound of her voice. He turned to look at her, and made to move out of his seat, but Inez stopped him, "No, you can sit. What happened?"

"She fell," he replied, turning his head back to Jackie, "I was trying to get us back to the gate, and we were in the air. I got shot and I guess…I dunno, she freaked out? She let go and fell off the board. I shot the robot that had hit me, grabbed her and got us back here quick enough. She's still out, but she's ok…Mostly…got a broken arm," he nodded towards her left arm, which was in a cast, "She'll heal faster here, though. Be fine in a week. How long's it take on Earth?" His voice was hollow, and it seemed to Inez he really wasn't even asking a question, just trying to keep talking.

"Why was she with you? She's a medic; aren't you a soldier?" asked Inez suspiciously, as she moved closer to Jackie's side to examine her arm.

"I found her. If I'd left her, she'd have been shot. So I took her with me."

"You took her with you? She'd have been shot?"

"There were robots chasing after me, and she was in my path. In the robot's path. So I couldn't –"

"So it's your fault," replied Inez coldly, glaring at Half-pipe, who looked up quickly. Inez regretted it the instant she said it; even though half his face was obscured by his goggles, she could see she'd hurt him.

"Yea."

Inez was silent—she meant to apologize, but the sight of her friend lying wounded in this alien world somehow kept her from opening her mouth and saying the actual words.

"I'm sorry," he said, and she looked up, feeling her own apology stuck in her throat, "It's my fault for leading them towards her. I didn't mean for her to get hurt."

"Is that because you got shot? Your arm, there?" asked Inez quickly in an effort to change the subject, gesturing to his bandaged arm.

"What?" he followed her gaze, and then nodded, "Oh. Yea. But they got the bullet out in time, so…no real damage done," he replied, and Inez was surprised to hear how miserable he sounded.

"Er, look, I'm just – glad you could get her out of there, y'know? I'm just…I've never…" she sighed, and looked up, "You're Half-pipe, right?"

"Yea," he replied dully.

"Well…I'm sorry. This is just – I hate being away from everybody. I hate how everything is so different. I thought I _missed _this place," she sighed, "I'd rather be anywhere else than here."

"Don't…" came a faint voice, and Inez and Half-pipe both looked towards Jackie, who was just beginning to stir, "Don't…be –"

"What?" asked Inez, stooping down so she was by Jackie's head.

"Don't be….so…emo, Inez," muttered Jackie faintly.

"What'd she say?" asked Half-pipe worriedly.

"Jackie! Jackie, are you alright? How're you feelin'?" asked Inez quickly, ignoring Half-pipe's questions as she clapped a hand on Jackie's shoulder, shaking her slightly.

"Like someone dumped a pile of stuff on my head. What happened?" asked Jackie softly, blinking as she struggled to open her eyes.

"You fell or something. Slammed your head – and arm – into the ground," replied Inez.

"Ugh… Casper…what about Casper?"

Inez looked up at Half-pipe, confusion written all over her face. The Cyborg shrugged, "Maybe that dude she had on a stretcher?"

"Whozzat?" asked Jackie, attempting to push herself up, and discovering her left arm was bandaged in the process. She turned, staring at it, "Whuzzat?"

"You broke your arm," explained Inez, propping up the bed's pillows so that Jackie could sit up, "But…Half-pipe says it'll be all healed up within a week. Guess these Cyborgs know something we don't, huh?"

"Half-pipe?" Jackie turned, and saw the teal-haired Cyborg sitting behind her, "I fell off?"

"Yea," he replied, still looking upset, "It's my fault, I'm sorry. Those guys were chasing me and I thought I'd have to take you with me – I should've dropped you off in a, in a building, or something."

Jackie sighed and sunk back into the pillows, closing her eyes, "It's ok. You're the one was saving me from those robots. And getting shot at."

"Yea, but I'm not the one with the broken arm."

Jackie opened her eyes and looked at Half-pipe, her gaze traveling to his bandaged arm, "Wait, what happened?"

He shrugged, "Robots –"

"_DIGIT!_"

Jackie and Half-pipe both turned to look at Inez, who had cut him off. She leapt to her feet, rushing to the entrance of the medic tent, and Jackie and Half-pipe watched her from where they sat. The cause for her cry became suddenly apparent at the sight of the purple Cybird, standing at the entrance of the tent, who was looking around confusedly, before Inez practically plowed into him. Jackie sat up in bed a little more, grinning at Digit's momentary confusion. She could see Inez talking to him, but she was too far away for Jackie to hear. Inez was leading Digit back to the back of the tent, although the Cybird had yet to see Jackie. Jackie and Inez were both so overjoyed at the sight of him, neither of them had noticed how Half-pipe's expression had become mutinous.

"Jackie!" exclaimed Digit as he came closer, "What happened? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Didge. I had my helmet on," replied Jackie, beaming.

"Good thing, too," muttered Inez, "Didge, where've you been? I thought you were going to get Matt – is he here?" She craned her neck over all the Cyborgs and beds, as if Matt was actually there and she had just missed him before.

"No," sighed Digit, taking a seat on the end of Jackie's bed, "That's the problem. When I went to the portal, I got it to work, but nothing happened. Matt didn't come through. I spent a lot of time searching for another portal, but there's nothing."

"Matt's still on Earth, then?" asked Inez dejectedly.

"No, he's here," said Half-pipe, and all three turned towards him, Digit first noticing his appearance. "If the portal was programmed to get Matt from Earth, and nothing came up, it means he's not on Earth. He's already here."

"Er, yea," replied Digit after a few seconds, "Mattie's already here – who're you?"

"Half-pipe. See you."

"What? You're leaving?" asked Jackie hurriedly.

"Sorry Jacks…I've got other stuff to do. Get better soon, alright?" he said, smiling slightly, "Later." He gave Jackie and Inez a small wave each, before departing from the tent. Digit and Inez went to talking amongst themselves, but Jackie's gaze lingered on the tent's entrance through which Half-pipe had disappeared. The sight of him always seemed to produce an annoying nagging feeling at the back of her mind, but as Inez turned to her to ask her a question, Jackie soon found herself pulled into Inez and Digit's conversation, all worrisome thoughts gone from her mind.

oooo

Hacker was fuming as he stormed into the Wreaker, muttering angrily under his breath as he made his way to the control panel, Buzz and Delete at his heels. The two of them exchanged nervous glances with each other as they continued to struggle to keep up with their boss.

"That…_witch! _Why does this always happen? I set up the perfect plan, and that _woman _feels it is absolutely necessary for her to _ruin everything!_" He crossed over to the front of the Wreaker where a large screen was propped up. Slamming his fist down on a small, green button, the screen suddenly lit up. Continuing to grumble about how Wicked was far more trouble than her magic was worth, he began rapidly pressing a series of buttons on the control board. The screen went blank again, before a new picture appeared. There was Wicked in her room, lying lazily upon her bed, her eyes facing the ceiling.

"Wicked!" roared Hacker.

The witch, who appeared completely unaffected by Hacker's angry tone, slowly turned her gaze so that she was looking at Hacker through the small screen in her own room, "What is it, Hackie-dear?"

"You _know _what it is! You ordered an attack on Radopolis, with _my _robots, and without _my _permission!" He was yelling so hard that little flecks of spit were winding up on the monitor. His eye twitched nastily as he waited for Wicked to reply.

"Ooh, Hackie-dear, I just wanted to _help_ you. You've been working _so _hard, and I thought if there was an attack now, no one would suspect it," she crooned, evidently indifferent to Hacker's violent temper.

"_MY _robots, Wicked! _MY _take-over, _MY _army! Continue to ruin my plans, _Wicked_, and I'm going to have even less of a use for you."

The screen went blank, and Wicked was left alone in her room in Happily Ever After.

"The sheer audacity of the idiotic Cyborg," she seethed as Hacker's image faded from her screen, and now her voice was low and cold. "Continue to ruin his plans! Have even _less _of a _use _for me? I'm not some cheap robot who does spells on command! But that's how it's always been for you, hasn't it?" She stood up from her bed, continuing to talk to the black monitor, as if Hacker's face was still on it, "Take Wicked for granted. Abuse her magic. Then drop me on the side of the road until you can think of some new reason why I'm needed to save your pathetic green butt."

She turned sharply to her right, where her wand hovered listlessly in the air.

"This I've waited too long for." The witch moved off towards the other side of her room, throwing opening the doors to a large cabinet. The shelves inside were stocked with ingredients. She chewed her lip nervously, unsure about the next step. One thing for sure was that Hacker wasn't the only one who took her magic for granted. Wicked herself was starting to worry. As Cyberspace's technology evolved even further, Wicked's magic had been growing weaker and weaker. This was presenting itself to be an enormous problem. Hacker was a genius, and his intelligence level was something that he could always fall back on. All Wicked had, in addition to what she believed to be remarkably good looks, was her magic. Once that faded, she would be nothing, just another useless drone who lived to worship and obey and Hacker, like everyone else on Happily Ever After. She gritted her teeth at the thought of it; let that green pig triumph over her?

"We'll see about _that_."

oooo

"How's it going, Creech?" called Matt, staring straight up to where he knew Creech was, despite his inability to see her.

"It's going – _ehn! _– fine! We might be able to – _hngr _– leave tonight," she replied, her speech interrupted by occasional grunts as she continued to chip away at the stones.

Lying on his back just a night ago, Matt had suddenly been struck with an idea as to how he and Creech could make their escape. The ceiling of their cell was unusually high, and Matt was willing to guess that above them was the floor of the main level of Wicked's castle, or some other area through which they could probably escape.

The question was, how were they supposed to tunnel their way out, through a solid stone ceiling that was so high above them, they couldn't even see it in the cell's darkness?

Thus had the destruction of the cell's lonely bed had come into play. Creech, being a cyborg, possessed an uncanny amount of strength that made Matt burn in shame as he watched her snap the metal bed frame into equal sized bits, as easily as he might have snapped a twig. With these short metal bits, around six inches in length, and the headboard of the bed's frame acting as a hammer, she had managed to create a sort of make-shift ladder on the side of the cell's wall that slightly resembled a makeshift rock-climbing wall. She had slammed the pieces of the metal in between the stone pieces that made up the wall, driving the metal into the mortar and spacing them out evenly so that one could use their feet and hands to climb up the side of the wall. Using the bed sheets, they had also fashioned a sort of makeshift harness. Creech's ladder went all the way to the ceiling, and once there, she would tie the harness to one of the metal poles so that she could have her hands free while leaning away from the wall, without running the risk of falling off and crashing back onto the floor below. With more of the snapped bed frame in hand, she would chip at the mortar around one of the stone pieces of the ceiling. The plan was that eventually they would be able to free one of the stone pieces from the ceiling, which would leave a nice hole for them to escape through.

"Really?" asked Matt, watching the door of their cell anxiously. He'd been keeping watch most of the time, though it was mostly for naught – they had yet to see a single guard appear.

"Yea. I'm not even kiddin', this thing is gonna fall out really soon…so I'd back off a little if I were you."

Directly beneath the area where Creech was working was their bed's mattress (obviously, they had nothing resembling a bed anymore, and had been spending their nights sleeping back-to-back on the floor, struggling to stay warm) so that when the large slab of rock was eventually worked free from the ceiling, it wouldn't make _that _loud a noise when it hit the ground. Or at least, that was what they were hoping.

Their assumption ending up paying off – when the huge rock fell from the ceiling shortly afterwards, it only produced a very loud thud when it slammed into the mattress below it. It was enough, however, to make Matt jump as he whirled around, surprised at seeing the rock on the ground.

"Haha, I told you so!" came a light laugh from above.

"Jesus…yea thanks for the warning and everything," muttered Matt.

"Hey, you want to escape or what? C'mon…it's now or never."


	10. Chapter 10

IMPORTANT: I updated/edited chapter 9 earlier this week (1/13). If you haven't re-read it, go do that – there's some important stuff added at the end that you should probably read to understand the beginning of chapter 10.

Chapter X

As a result of living in the equivalent of a basement for the past five days, Matt and Creech had had no way of knowing what time of day it was outside. When they'd worked on their escape, they'd always been hoping it would be night when they finally broke through the ceiling. As Matt made his way up the side of the wall and through the large gap in the ceiling, to where Creech was waiting, he was happy to see that it appeared that luck was on his side for once.

The two of them had ended up in an enormous room, its impressive arched ceiling soaring far above them. Tall, slanted windows lined the room's stone walls, revealing a starry night outside. Dark green curtains hung from the windows, matching the squishy green chairs and sofas arranged in the center of the room, around a marble fireplace where a few glowing embers were visible from within, the remains of the room's latest fire.

"Wow," murmured Matt, gazing at the larger-than-life portrait of Wicked, suspended above the room's sole pair of double doors.

"Yea," remarked Creech softly, looking around uneasily, "Matt, we've gotta move. I dunno what time it is, and who says Wicked isn't going to come walking around in the middle of the night?"

"Yea, right…okay."

"So…what now?"

"Uh, we continue escaping."

"Oh, great plan."

"I'm not so good at this," replied Matt, whispering, recalling his last escape attempt.

"Yea but, you must've been here before…any idea where to go now?"

"Last time I was here I was just beginning to grasp the basic concepts of elementary math," muttered Matt, "But…I guess we should try those doors, huh?" He gestured to the pair of doors beneath Wicked's portrait, and Creech nodded in agreement.

The two of them walked quickly to the other side of the room, the expansive, plush green carpet that covered the floor muffling their footfalls. They opened the door cautiously, for beneath the doors they could see a small line of light, which mean whatever room they entered next would probably be well lit. Pulling the door open just a crack, Creech and Matt both peered through into the other room, anxiously. It was a hallway, a row of what looked like electric torches upon the wall illuminating the corridor.

"Is it empty?" asked Creech.

"I think…I have no idea how to get out of here, though," murmured Matt.

"Not like we can ask for directions."

"We've got to be on the ground floor, though, right?"

"Right…"

"So eventually we've got to hit a door that opens up to the outside. Or a window or something..."

Slowly, his eyes turning in every direction, Matt opened the door just wide enough so that he could slip out. In the hallway he remained standing still, continuing to search in every direction before waving to Creech, signaling that it was all clear, and then continuing down the hallway. They continued down the windowless corridor in silence, until Creech suddenly reached out suddenly and yanked Matt backwards.

"Ackgh!" exclaimed Matt, choking on the neck of his shirt.

"Sorry," whispered Creech, releasing her grip on Matt's shirt.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, massaging his throat.

"Here, I think we have to go through this door," she replied, jerking her thumb in to her left, where a closed door was positioned. Matt eyed her warily.

"How d' you know?"

"When they brought us over here…I think they'd mostly drugged us, but I sort of remember, like a dream, you know?" Matt said nothing. "Just, trust me, alright? I think we go through here."

"And then?"

"Well…we have to get past Wicked's moat outside. And then hijacking a ship shouldn't be too hard," she grinned.

"Mmkay not gonna ask," muttered Matt, moving towards the door Creech had pointed at.

The crack under the door was dark, indicating that there was probably no one in the room. When Matt opened the door though, he was shocked to see a group of three ogre-like cyborgs, sitting around a small screen in the middle of the room. The three of them looked up at the sound of Matt opening the door, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then Creech, who had remained invisible to the guards up until this point, shoved Matt out of the way and strode forwards, her spine straight and her eyes cold, as she walked straight up to the nearest cyborg.

"Where's Wicked?" she asked evenly, arms akimbo. Matt remained standing in the doorway, confused.

"Not here," grunted one of the other cyborgs. Creech turned her gaze towards him.

"Oh, _really_?"

"'Fraid so," the Cyborg's eyes narrowed, "What business you got with 'er, anyways?"

Creech raised her eyebrows, "What business is it of yours?"

"Well, we're sorta in charge of this place while she's gone," replied the cyborg, beginning to stand up, his two companions following his example, "No one's s'posed to be let in while she isn't here. 'Fact, there's only one way to get in here, and those doors are all locked and barred," he grunted, moving slowly towards Creech, who continued to glare at him, "I shut it all up m'self. So I'm wonderin', then, how'd you get in here in the first place, eh?"

"Him," replied Creech calmly, gesturing towards Matt. All three cyborgs turned their heads towards Matt who, until this moment, had been sort of willing himself to melt into the doorway. At Creech's mention of him, though, he made more of an effort to appear as if he was completely and totally aware of what was going on, as opposed to the oblivious feeling he was experiencing.

"By all means, keep on staring," said Creech lightly, as the cyborg she was conversing with had continued to keep his gaze on Matt, as if he was trying to remember something, "It will only further provoke him."

At this, the cyborg turned his eyes back to Creech, his brow furrowed, "Who's he?"

"Just an acquaintance. That's all you need to know, assuming you value your neck's attachment to your shoulders," she replied coolly, "Moving back on topic, when will Wicked be back?"

"Dunno. Whenever she feels like it, I s'pect. You want me to tell her you dropped by?" the cyborg grinned wickedly.

"That won't be necessary. If you're so eager to assist though, I wouldn't mind an escort out."

"What, can't your fancy little friend remember the way out?"

"We had a guide here. He informed us that Wicked would be here," she continued to glare at the cyborg, "Evidently, he was wrong."

"Really, 'n who was that?"

"You think I bother to learn the name of every simpleton that I cross paths with?" snapped Creech.

The two of them glared at each other, the cyborg towering over Creech by at least a foot. Neither one seemed to be backing down, until the cyborg finally grunted and, without breaking his gaze, gestured to one of his companions, "Show 'em the way out."

Creech nodded towards the cyborg, and then gestured to Matt, who shuffled over to her side. Another cyborg left the room, and the two of them followed after him. He looked over his shoulder only once as he began to lead them out, but an icy stare from Creech quickly prompted him to keep his eyes directed forwards. Matt said nothing, and Creech kept up her stoic expression as they were led through the corridor, into another hallway, through a series of other rooms and then, finally, into an enormous entryway, a pair of gigantic, double doors marking the entrance, a series of bars arranged in front of it, making it impossible to enter or exit. The cyborg moved off to the side of the room, withdrawing a card from a pouch at his belt, which he then slipped into a small slot in the wall. There was a loud screeching noise, and then the bars in front of the doors began to slide back into the wall, until they had disappeared entirely. Still keeping his eyes forward, the cyborg quickly moved over to the entryway and, gripping one of the handles, began to pull the left door back until it stood completed open. The first thing Matt felt was the air, the first fresh, outside air he had felt in a while, and he couldn't help but stand still for a moment, breathing it in. Creech, though she had been absent from the outside for a much longer time, was not about to delay their newfound freedom waiting for Matt to savor the air.

"C'mon! Let's get out of here," she grumbled to Matt, pushing him forwards a little. He stumbled forwards a little, then moved to follow her out the doors.

"Thank you," she said to the cyborg at the door, who mumbled something in reply, but kept his gaze on the floor.

Matt and Creech walked outside and onto the cobblestone path that led from Wicked's castle to a lowered drawbridge, which hung suspended over a silent moat. The night was still in place, and Matt nearly tripped over his own two feet as he walked, his eyes soaking in as much of the night sky as he could; it was the first time in seven years since he had seen the starry worlds of Cyberspace, and as his eyes roamed over the galaxies and cybersites in the sky, he could even feel a little tug in the back of his mind, as if it was a small part of his brain finally coming awake and whispering to himself _Shangri-La…you remember that, don't you? Where the Master Pi took you in, and you and Inez and Jackie mastered the game with the dragons? And Castleblanca…Hacker took it over once, that day Jackie and Inez got into a fight, but you all outsmarted him, didn't you? And the Cybrary – there! You can see it, that small little green speck. That's where Mrs. Fileshare is, you can't have forgotten her. Eureeka, Ecohaven, Gollywood, Sensible Flats, Poddleville, Mount Olympus…_

_Matt…_

_Matt!_

"MATT!"

He almost tripped over himself again – Creech was standing next to him, yelling in his ear, "Hello, earth to Matt? You in there?"

"Sorry, sorry," muttered Matt, shaking his head. "Just uh, a little caught up I guess."

Creech grinned, "Yea! Haha, your face back in Wicked's castle…priceless, Matt."

He smiled, relieved to see that Creech hadn't remained the stony-faced figure she had played back in the castle, "Yea, you were pretty good! I was ready to just run."

"Assuming you didn't start _spacing out _again, right?" she laughed, "Did you hear any of what I said before?"

"No," replied Matt, looking over his shoulder to see how far they had come – they were over the moat and into the capital of Happily Ever After, although the city itself was far from how he remembered it. The streets were deserted, and even the houses seemed deserted with their black and silent windows.

"It's different, right?"

"What?" said Matt, turning to Creech, who giggled.

"Do you think you could maybe stay with me for just a minute or so?" she smiled.

"Yea, sorry," he grinned awkwardly, "So, what were you saying?"

"That it's different, right? From how you remember it?"

"Well…it's been a while."

She nodded, "Right. Well…it shouldn't take us too long to find a ship around here."

"Yea but we don't have a key or anything."

Creech shrugged, "That shouldn't be too much of a problem."

They continued walking in silence, with Matt falling into step with Creech, who seemed to be leading the way. It wasn't long before she led them both down a narrow alley, which brought them both to a small enclosure where a small row of ships were lined up. Creech smiled.

"How did you know about these?" asked Matt softly as he followed her to the nearest craft, a sleek spaceship with a glossy black surface.

She shrugged, "I recognize the signs."

She examined the ship briefly, before moving off to the side where a small assortment of crates and boxes were piled together. One of them contained a wide array of tools, which Creech told Matt to stock up on. He lowered his trusty pack, which he had managed to retain this whole time, and began to load it up with as many tools as he could, while Creech grabbed something that resembled a screwdriver and went back to the ship. Once he'd filled his bag with as many tools as he figured he would be able to hold without telescoping his spine, he shouldered his pack again and turned to find Creech standing in the open doorway of the ship, a wide grin stretched across her face.

"How…?" asked Matt, walking over towards the ship.

"How do you think I've managed to stay ruler of Tikiville all this time?" asked Creech, still smiling, and Matt then recalled how their leaders were always elected every year in an elaborate car race, "Hardly any ship or car out there I can't get into and work."

"Haha, nice."

Matt climbed up the small set of stairs set up next to the ship, ducking into the craft that more resembled a mini-jet than the coupe he was used to flying around with Jackie and Inez, back in the day. Inside, Creech had already strapped herself down in the pilot seat, and was examining the control panel. Matt turned behind him and reached for the door to shut it, but Creech beat him to it.

"No, wait – I'll get it," and she pushed a small button at the top of the dashboard, and the door slowly began to lower before sealing itself shut.

Impressed, Matt moved up to the front of the ship, taking the seat next to Creech. "All ready then?" he asked.

"Ye-up…prepare for take-off!" She had hardly stopped smiling since they'd finally left the castle's grounds. She reached above her head and flipped a few switches hanging above her seat; the ship began to hum, and Matt could feel his seat vibrating.

"Alright! We are _out _of here!" She yanked on the throttle next to her seat, and then placed both hands on the ship's wheel as the entire craft jerked forwards suddenly, and then blasted off into Cyberspace.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter XI

Matt was amazed at how smoothly the ship flew through the sky. The ship seemed to glide far better than he'd ever remembered their old coupe or pod doing, although it'd been so many years since he'd actually navigated across the stars of Cyberspace that he wasn't even sure he quite remembered how the coupe had flown in the first place.

"So, where are we headed?" asked Matt, turning to Creech.

"Good question," she replied, one hand on the steering wheel while she used the other hand to manage a small built-in GPS, "I'm not sure which Cybersites are still free…or how we're going to get into them. This is a new sort of ship, Hacker's design – no one's going to want to let us while we're looking like the enemy."

"We can't go to Tikiville or something?"

Creech bit her lip, thinking, before replying, "Well, that's what I was planning, but we really shouldn't be going to any place that Hacker's already got control of. Especially once Hacker finds out you're gone…"

A crackle of static suddenly broke the brief silence that had begun to form, and both Creech and Matt directed their gaze towards the small speaker in the middle of the control panel, from which a voice sounded, "BS-23, you are not authorized for launch. Report your reason."

"BS?" repeated Matt, grinning, "What?"

"Short for Blackstar," muttered Creech, failing to find the humor in the situation, "Matt, this isn't funny. They're going to come after us."

"What, can't you think of a reason?"

"We're not authorized to use this ship…this is different, I can't just –"

"BS-23, report now."

A small _beep _hit the air, and Creech looked anxiously towards the GPS again, which was showing a small map of their current whereabouts. Their ship was represented on the map by a small, blue triangle and now, quickly approaching them from another corner of the map, was a small red triangle.

"Dammit," she seethed, then to Matt, "Sit back, buckle up."

Matt, surprised by Creech's commanding tone, hastened to get his seatbelt across him which, until now, had just been hanging by the side of his seat. He sat back nervously, watching Creech. She turned to make sure he was all strapped up, before nodding briefly.

"BS-23, if you do not comply in 10 seconds we will be forced to open fire."

At that moment, Creech yanked on the throttle again, this time pulling it back as far as it would go. A loud _bang _seemed to echo from somewhere behind them, and the ship hurtled forwards, sending Matt flying back into his seat. He grabbed the armrests, startled by the amount of force the ship had suddenly produced. Next to him, he could see Creech struggling with the controls, and turning to look out the front window, he could see why. The craft was going so fast, it was a miracle Creech could dodge out of the way of all the space debris flying towards them. The ship jerked up and down, side to side as she continued to speed forwards. The intercom crackled again, but Matt couldn't hear it over the roar of the ship's engines. He did notice, though, that on the GPS the little red triangle was still managing to keep up with their blue one. Creech noticed it, too.

"Hang on, if they start—" Before she could finish her sentence, the GPS started beeping loudly, and Creech yanked on the wheel, swerving the ship to the left. On the GPS's monitor, Matt saw a small orange circle fly past their ship, and looking outside, he could just see a small tail of fire disappearing into the distance.

"What – did they just shoot us?"

"Like I was saying," said Creech, struggling to be heard over the engine, "you better hang on."

Creech was forced to dodge three more missiles, yanking the ship up, jerking it sideways and, in one case, barreling over. Matt, who'd always considered himself something of a roller-coaster person, was beginning to feel slightly nauseous – not to mention scared for their lives. Again the intercom crackled uselessly. The ship beeped, and Matt looked at the little monitor, expecting to see another orange dot flying towards their blue triangle. Instead, he saw a large gray shape in front of them. Confused, he tore his gaze from the GPS to the front window, and wondered if Creech was even aware of what she was doing. Their ship was flying straight towards a junk site, Cyberspace's equivalent of a dump, and from the look on Creech's face, it didn't appear as if she was planning on turning away from it anytime soon. Matt threw his hands over his eyes as they neared the site, which had the appearance of a crater made out of a conglomeration of broken and useless items, with larger pieces of trash, such as broken spaceship parts, orbiting around it.

Despite his eyes being closed, Matt could still easily tell when they had approached the site – the ship bumped up and down so fast it was almost as if it was vibrating. He opened his eyes for a brief second to see mounds of trash and scrap metal surrounding them on all sides, as Creech struggled to navigate her way through the site without crashing and getting them both killed. He quickly re-shut his eyes.

"Hang on, Matt!" yelled Creech, and Matt felt the ship swerve and then, suddenly, the ship went quiet, and it wasn't jerking up and down anymore – in fact, it didn't seem to be doing anything for a moment. Matt opened his eyes to see Creech pressed flat against her seat, her knuckles white on the steering wheel that she had pulled up as far as possible. They were no longer on the junk site; space surrounded them on all sides. But something seemed a little off, to Matt. It took him only a second to realize it; the ship's power was off. All the lights were dead, and the GPS's screen only stared blankly back at him, the picture gone. He was about to mention this to Creech when they started to fall.

The ship was flying down, gathering speed as it careened towards the Cybersite directly below them. Matt could feel his stomach flying, as he experienced a feeling not unlike how he felt on a drop on a roller coaster. _This is it, _he thought, _this is the end – something must have happened, they must have shot us, taken out the power…now I'm dying, we're dying, I'm going to die in the middle of Cyberspace and no one will ever know..._

He kept expecting every second that the drop would end, that they'd start flying again or something worse would occur, but the seconds stretched on. Matt gritted his teeth, his mind racing, until with a loud _crash _the ship suddenly careened to the side, jerking Matt forwards and slowing the ship until, with an even louder crash, it hit the ground, again throwing Matt forwards. With a dazed, incredulous look on his face he turned to Creech, who appeared to be just as amazed as him as she matched his gaze.

"Well," she finally managed to say, her voice shaking, "We're alive."

Jackie had been let out after spending one night at the medic tent – they'd only kept her that long in the first place to make sure they'd taken care of her properly, as the doctors on Radopolis had no experience in working with humans. Jackie, however, was as fit as was possible for her, and so they had released her. She had spent most of the day following Inez around, who was assisting in tent four, and talking with Digit. She'd gone searching for Half-pipe at lunch time, but had been unable to find him, and so had returned to spend the rest of her day with Inez and Digit. As evening came around, Jackie and Inez had left their pruple friend, who needed to go talk with Scab for a bit, and headed towards Coop's Garage, where they had been permitted to stay during their time on Radopolis. The two of them had just finished eating dinner (Cyberbeans – Cyberspace didn't have much to offer in the way of food that was edible for both cyborgs and humans) when they heard a knock on the door and went to find Digit there. Now, as Radopolis's sun began to disappear below the horizon, the three of them sat around Coop's aging table, while Coop himself worked in another part of the house.

"Where've you been, Didge?" asked Jackie, whose broken arm was in a sling. Digit was looking worn and tired while Inez hardly seemed to be paying any mind to their conversation, her mind elsewhere.

"Talkin' with Scab about the battle," he replied, examining his wings and the metallic feathers that stuck out from them at all ends, "Y'know, losses and gains and all that great military stuff."

"Yea? That's uh, cool, I guess. How'd we do?"

Digit shrugged, "Well, the 'bots didn't get in the city, so that sorta makes us the winners. But Scab is wonderin' about the attack, cuz it wasn't anything new…not like there was some new strategy or anything."

"So? It means Hacker's too stupid to figure out how to actually win anything," said Jackie, waving her good arm carelessly.

"Well, he's already gotten some other Cybersites, so he's not _all _stupid. But Scab's wonderin' why he'd do that, then."

"What about Matt?" asked Inez, joining in the conversation, "Have you figured out anything else about him?"

Digit turned away from his ruffled feathers to face Inez, "No…thing is, well, when I first brought you guys back here, it was so you could help me find Motherboard and the doc and…well you know, just like what we used to do."

Jackie nodded, smiling, "Yea."

"Well, that _was _the plan. Now it's more like 'save and find Mattie 'fore somethin' bad happens to him.'"

"Any idea where he is?"

"Well, I think it's sorta obvious where he is..." said Digit, his voice trailing off. When neither Jackie or Inez spoke, he sighed, adding, "I mean, the way things are goin'…Hacker's gotta be the only other one out there who might be able to use a portal, y'know?"

"If Matt's with Hacker, then we've got to do something, and fast," said Inez, her voice soft.

"I've been thinking of going to the Cybrary," said Digit, elaborating after seeing the looks on Jackie and Inez's faces, "Well I mean, it's got the strongest…connections, sort of. Most up-to-date technology, great tracking materials…might be a way for us to figure out which portals been recently activated and where."

"Why go to the Cybrary? If Hacker's got Matt, wouldn't it be better to just go straight to the Grim Wreaker?" asked Inez, "How's the Cybrary still running if it's so refined, anyways? Wouldn't Hacker have it under his control by now?"

"It's shielded, shows up as a black hole on all the maps n' stuff," replied Digit, "An' I'd want to go there first just to double check…make sure Matt really _is _with Hacker. Trust me, last thing ya want to do now is go stormin' onto the Wreaker without bein' sure about it."

"Great, then we should leave as soon as possible. How's tomorrow morning?" suggested Inez, before turning to Jackie and saying, "I dunno if you should come though, Jacks."

"S'cuse me? And why not?"

"Nah, Inez has a point, Jackie," quipped Digit, "With your arm, it might not be safe."

"Dude, it's just the Cybrary. How dangerous is that?" exclaimed Jackie, snorting.

"With the way things are, it's dangerous just to leave Radopolis," replied Inez, "What if we were attacked? You could mess your arm up even worse." Jackie was silent. "Don't worry, it probably wouldn't take that long, right Digit?"

"Right," said the Cybird, nodding quickly, "The Cybrary is close by – we'd be back by the afternoon if we left 'round 5 or 6 in the morning."

"Five or six?" exclaimed Jackie, "Yea, you can definitely count me out then."

"Right, so –" Inez stopped suddenly, turning towards the garage door from which a loud knock had just come from. Digit rose to get it, but he was stopped by Coop, who was coming from his work space, calling:

"No, no, it's alright Digit – I'll get it."

Digit sat back down, shrugging. Coop, wiping grease from his hands with a dirty cloth, made his way over to the side of the door and pushed a small, green button. The door groaned to life, rising to reveal none other than Half-pipe standing in the doorway. His face was still mostly covered by the ever-present goggles, but Jackie could see his brow furrow as he turned his head in their direction.

"Half-pipe—hey man, what're you doing here?" asked Coop, still wiping grease from his hands.

"Scab wants a status report," replied the Cyborg, turning to Coop.

"Ah, yea, of course! Yea, come here, I'll show you what I've got so far," replied Coop, gesturing for Half-pipe to follow him as he turned and made his way back to his work space. Jackie gave him a small wave as he walked by, which he returned.

"Well, if we're going to leave tomorrow at five…" started Inez, looking towards Digit, who nodded, "Right, well, I'm going to go to bed now, kay?"

"Cool Inez – I'll probably come up, soon," replied Jackie, "Just gonna talk with Didge a little."

"Right, well, see you later then," said Inez, rising from the table to leave.

"'Night Inez."

"'Night Digit."

As she made her way towards the stairs in the back she could hear Jackie asking Digit questions about Cyberspace while Motherboard had still been in power. Inez hadn't even thought about that time. To her, it felt like catastrophe had set in as soon as the Cybresquad had left, but then, there had certainly been at least five or so years before Hacker escaped, hadn't there? She soon reached the second floor, which contained three rooms and a bathroom. At the end of the hallway on the second floor was the room she and Jackie were sharing, and as she made her way back there she couldn't but pause in the same place she had been stopping every night since their arrival – the room next to theirs, marked by a shut, green door, the paint peeling away to reveal the gray, metal surface beneath it. Still, the words '_Slider's Room_' were still freshly visible upon the door's front, and, like every night before, Inez found the idea of pushing open the door and going inside tempting; tonight eve more so, due to it's being slightly ajar. She looked around. Jackie probably wasn't coming up very soon, and Coop was downstairs with Half-pipe – for some reason, she found she did not want to be discovered searching this room. There was nobody around to see her as she gently placed her hand on the door's front and pushed it open, watching it glide forwards on well-oiled hinges to reveal the room within.

She stepped in quickly, shutting the door behind her as she looked around her. It was a fairly spacious room, with the impression of having been recently lived in, despite the fact that its former occupant had been forever banished from Radopolis. It seemed to speak volumes about the person who had resided within these four walls, and Inez moved forwards slowly, examining the walls, the pictures, and items strewn about the floor, as if she were at a museum. In the corner was a bed, the sheets unmade as though someone had slept in them just last night. A wide variety of things, namely tools and building materials, such as screws and nails, lay scattered across the floor, mixing in with the mess of clothes that also resided either on the floor or half-sticking out of the red dresser by the side of the bed. A pair of triangular windows, half-covered by a set of broken blinds, allowed in a small, filtered amount of moonlight, the room's only source of illumination. She lingered by the chipped and paint-spattered desk that took over one whole corner of the room, a half-finished skateboard lying flat across it. Two other finished boards sat by the desk, waiting patiently.

What interested her most though were the pictures on the wall. One she recognized; it was a snapshot of Slider when he was much younger, around seven she guessed, holding up a small trophy with his father standing proudly behind him – it was the picture Digit had knocked over years ago that had led to the discovery of Coop's location. The next picture on the wall, though, was one completely unfamiliar to Inez. It portrayed a group of teenagers, and it took her a while to pick out Slider from the mass of faces. But sure enough, there he was; taller, his hair longer, but it was him nonetheless. She moved through all the pictures, slowly, her eyes taking in every story and event that each portrait had to offer. Her gaze lingered on the last one. Most of the snapshots on the wall had been hastily tacked or taped up, and only three were actually encased in a sort of frame. This one, she was touched to find, was one of the framed. Looking into the picture, she could see four faces smiling back at her – herself, Jackie, Matt and Slider. This, she recalled, was just a month or two before they'd cured Motherboard. It was at a skating competition that Slider had invited them too, and in the picture you could just see the skate park in the background. Slider was standing in the picture with his arms around Inez and Jackie, all of them grinning madly, with Matt standing on the end next to Jackie.

"Hey."

She jumped up, startled. She had been so enraptured by the picture that she had failed to realize someone else had entered the room. Turning around, she was surprised to see Half-pipe standing in the doorway, and felt herself sort of freeze over.

"Uh, hi," she replied awkwardly.

"Checking out the scenery?" he remarked evenly, walking over to where she was standing. Inez said nothing. She couldn't see his eyes, but she was assuming that he was looking over the same pictures she had just reviewed. "That's you?" he said, pointing to the photo she had just been looking over.

"Yea," she said, "And Jackie, there. That's Matt on the end, and Slider in the middle."

He nodded, and then turned and walked over to the corner of the room where the desk was, retrieving the unfinished board that was lying on top, "So, you think he's a traitor?"

"Well…I don't know," replied Inez softly, half to herself, "It's been so long, but I can't really imagine him doing something like that…why? Do you?"

Half-pipe turned, the board resting under his arm, and he shrugged, "No."

"Did you know him?"

"A little. I used to help them out around here. S' why Scab sends me to Coop to get status reports and updates – he works on a lot of our defensive technology."

"Did he seem like a traitor?" asked Inez, ignoring his last sentence.

"Nah, he was a cool guy," for a minute, it looked he was going to say something else, but instead he remained silent.

"Where are you taking that?" inquired Inez, gesturing to the skateboard.

"Oh – Coop sent me up to get it."

"Do you wear your goggles everywhere?" asked Inez, smiling.

"…Yea."

"Oh…okay." She stood, awkwardly, while Half-pipe looked over the room again.

"Well," he said finally, "See you."

Inez watched him leave the room, listening to his receding footsteps, before she too made her way out the door and down the hallway, to her and Jackie's shared bedroom. That night, it took a while for sleep to come, and when it finally did, her sleep was plagued with strange dreams that woke her up in the middle of the night.


End file.
